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JOUENALS  AND  EEMINISCENCES 


DOUGLAS 


<&&*<-C>2£Z^m 


JOURNALS  AND  REMINISCENCES 


OF 


JAMES  DOUGLAS,  M.D. 


EDITED  BY  HIS  SON 


PRIVATELY  PRINTED 
NEW  YORK 
1910 


Two  hundred  and  fifty  copies 
printed  for  private  distribution 


27-  Z4a  3  ¥ 


THE     TORCH       PRESS 
CEDAR    RAPIDS.     IOWA 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Introduction 9 

Chapter       I    Boyhood    and    Apprenticeship 

to  Dr.  Low       .        .        .  .        .        15 

Chapter      II    A  Whaling  Voyage  to  Spitz- 

BERGEN  IN  1818 25 

Chapter    III    A  Year  en  India      ...        71 

Chapter  IV  In  Medical  Charge  op  the  Poy- 
ais  Settlement 85 

Chapter  V  His  Active  Professional  Ca- 
reer     121 

Chapter  VI  Reminiscences  of  One  of  His 
Old  Students 163 

Chapter  VII  Ill-Health,  Retirement  from 
Practice,  and  Travel        ....      179 

Chapter  VIII  One  of  the  Founders  and  Man- 
ager of  the  Quebec  Lunatic  Asylum    .       193 

Chapter     IX    His  Friends — Sane  and  Insane  227 

Chapter  X  As  a  Temperance  Advocate  and 
Lecturer 239 

Chapter    XI    Conclusion      ....      247 


ILLUSTKATIONS 

Portbait frontispiece 

Quebec  Lunatic  Asylum  in  1850  .  .  .  205 
Cartoon  prom  "Diogenes"  ....  216 
Portrait  —  At  the  Age  of  Eighty-five        .        245 


INTRODUCTION 

The  following  sketch  of  the  life  of  my  father  is  in 
part  autobiographical  and  part  drawn  from  my  own 
recollections. 

He  was  born  with  the  Nineteenth  Century  and 
lived  till  its  eighty-sixth  year.  His  earliest  recollections 
were  of  the  boisterous  rejoicings  over  Nelson's  great 
victory  at  Trafalgar.  He  was  a  surgeon's  appren* 
tice  when  Waterloo  was  fought.  His  first  professional 
employment  was  in  1818  as  surgeon  to  a  whaler,  which 
was  fortunate  in  penetrating  the  Arctic  Circle  nearer 
to  the  North  Pole  than  any  ships  prior  to  that  date, 
except  those  under  the  command  of  Sir  John  Eoss. 
So  near  did  he  live  to  the  empire-making  epoch  of  the 
eighteenth  century  that  "Warren  Hastings  had  not  been 
dead  two  years  when  he  entered  the  service  of  the 
East  India  Company.  He  knew  Carey  and  Marsh- 
man  and  therefore  witnessed  the  early  efforts  of  mod- 
ern missionary  enterprise  and  its  success  toward  secur- 
ing the  abolition  of  sutteeism  and  other  cruel  customs. 
He  was  one  of  the  first  pupils  of  Robert  Liston,  the 
father  of  modern  surgery  and  one  of  the  first  to  apply 
his  teachings  on  this  continent.  He  thus  not  only 
witnessed  but  took  a  humble  part  in  the  great  revolu- 


10  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

tion  by  which  surgery  has  been  bereft  of  its  terrors, 
which  has  mitigated  the  horrors  of  the  operating  table 
by  the  introduction  of  anesthetics,  and  whose  crown- 
ing triumph  has  been  the  application  of  antiseptics, 
rendering  it  possible  for  the  modern  surgeon  to  per- 
form operations  which,  despite  the  greater  dexter- 
ity of  his  predecessor  it  would  have  been  sheer  murder 
on  his  part  to  attempt.  He  also,  though  not  a 
homeopathist,  rejoiced  in  the  victory  of  the  rational 
school  of  medicine,  which  banished  from  the  pharma- 
copoeia a  host  of  magical  drugs,  and  from  the  prac- 
tice of  physic  those  copious  and  noxious  doses,  unless 
drenched  with  which  our  forefathers  considered  them- 
selves neglected  by  their  family  physician  and  unless 
supplied  with  which  they  considered  themselves  de- 
frauded of  the  tangible  value  for  which  they  paid 
their  medical  attendant  so  much  per  annum.  After 
a  short  residence  in  the  East  Indies  the  impulse  of 
independence  and  the  promise  of  higher  pay  tempted 
him  in  1824  to  join,  as  surgeon  and  physician,  one  of 
those  ill-considered  and  ill-fated  colonization  expedi- 
tions to  Central  America,  for  which  British  enthusi- 
asm over  the  emancipation  of  Spanish  America  from 
the  rule  of  England's  old  rival,  Spain,  made  it  so 
easy  for  speculative  promoters  between  1820  and  1830 
to  gain  support  from  the  British  public.  How  this 
failed,  by  what  a  strange  chain  of  accidents  he  came 
finally  to  settle  in  Canada,  after  a  short  residence 
in  Utica,  fills  the  most  interesting  and  profitable 
chapter  of  his  active  life. 

Thus,  and  in  a  hundred  other  ways,  he  saw  the  old 
system  of  government,  of  social  and  commercial  life 


INTRODUCTION  11 

and  of  science,  pass  away  and  give  place  to  the  new. 
One  generation  after  another  was  born  and  died  while 
he  lived  on;  but  the  longer  he  lived  the  more  his 
thoughts  reverted  to  the  past,  which  to  us  was  history, 
but  to  him  was  more  real  than  the  present. 

In  this  shifting  scene  he  played  a  very  inconspicu- 
ous part.  He  possessed  intellectual  ability  and  force 
of  will  which  would  have  made  him  a  leader  of  men, 
had  be  been  ambitious  and  had  he  sought  a  sphere 
where  the  full  blaze  of  publicity  would  have  fallen 
upon  him;  for  in  the  practice  of  his  own  profession 
of  surgery  he  was  original  and  skilful  to  an  eminent 
degree.  And  when  he  undertook  any  public  work  or 
advocated  any  public  measure,  which,  however,  he  did 
only  when  the  work  or  the  measure  fell  within  the 
sphere  of  his  professional  activity,  he  threw  his  whole 
strength  into  the  enterprise  or  its  advocacy,  with  such 
impulsive  energy  that  he  bore  down  all  opposition  and 
carried  his  point  by  sheer  force  of  attack.  Though 
overbearing,  there  lay  in  his  nature  a  depth  of  ten- 
derness, which  never  came  to  the  surface  more  at- 
tractively than  in  the  presence  of  pain.  While  intol- 
erant of  disobedience  or  querulousness  on  the  part  of 
his  patients,  many  a  sufferer  lay  in  unrest  for  hours 
waiting  for  his  visit  and  for  the  luxury  of  being  lifted 
and  turned  by  his  strong  arms,  and  encouraged  by 
his  unfaltering  and  sincere  opinion,  even  if  adverse. 
His  office  was  a  clinic  for  the  poor,  long  before  the 
word  was  used  in  its  present  sense.  One  reason  why 
he  inspired  confidence  was  that  he  never  exhibited  that 
doubt  as  to  what  is  the  matter  with  their  patients, 
which  some  unfortunate  practitioners  cannot  conceal, 


12  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

and  which  all  very  often  feel.     He  acted  always  up  to 
the  wise  maxim : 

Look  wise, 

Say  nothing, 

An  unerring  way 

When  doctors  nothing  have  to  say. 
He  shunned  popularity.  He  wrote  a  clear  and  con- 
cise style,  yet  never  contributed  a  single  article  to 
even  a  medical  journal.  He  was  a  fascinating  story 
teller  and  a  consummate  actor,  and  with  practice 
would  have  been  an  able  speaker;  yet  he  foreswore 
polities,  both  municipal  and  national,  during  the  years 
of  his  active  professional  life.  Nor  did  he  thus  isolate 
himself  from  indolence,  but  from  obedience  to  self- 
imposed  rules  of  life.  He  looked  upon  himself  as  the 
servant  of  his  patients  and  at  liberty  to  follow  no  ex- 
traneous occupation,  and  to  allow  his  mind  to  be  dis- 
tracted by  no  pursuit  which  might  absorb  the  time 
and  thought  which  he  considered  to  be  theirs,  without 
subtraction.  He  was  a  superb  man,  endowed  not  only 
with  remarkable  gifts  of  mind,  but  a  massive  and  well- 
balanced  frame.  Every  feature  of  the  face,  the  size 
and  contour  of  the  head,  even  the  bushy  crop  of  hair, 
which  refused  to  be  smoothed,  but  stood  erect  and 
defiant,  bespoke  strength  of  purpose  and  activity  of 
intellect. 

Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  after  once  meeting  him, 
said  he  did  not  know  whether  most  to  fear  or  to  ad- 
mire him,  but  that  in  his  head  and  figure  he  was  the 
nearest  approach  to  a  Jupiter  Olympus  of  any  man 
he  had  ever  seen.  He  had  many  of  the  qualities  of 
greatness,  for  his  character  possessed  the  elements  out 


INTRODUCTION  13 

of  which  either  a  man  of  wide  professional  repute  or 
a  statesman  of  commanding  influence  might  have  been 
compounded,  and  therefore  those  who  knew  him  well 
wondered  that  he  remained  obscure.  Perhaps  he 
knew  himself  better  than  others  knew  him,  and  may- 
have  suspected  that  the  strong  properties  of  his  nature 
were  mingled  with  others  so  inconsistent  that  the  re- 
sultant was  a  character  too  eccentric  and  full  of  con- 
tradictions to  bear  the  scrutiny  of  the  public  eye.  It 
is  just  such  anomalies  that  give  individuality  to  human 
life.  They  make  some  public  men  picturesque,  but 
they  more  often  make  them  dangerous.  Not  a  little 
of  the  evil  work  of  the  world  is  done  by  its  strong  men, 
honest  and  conscious  of  their  perfect  integrity,  but 
using  their  strength  amiss  under  the  impulse  of  some 
extravagant  whim,  grotesque  fancy,  or  overweening 
confidence  in  the  infallibility  of  their  judgment. 

He  left  these  fragments  of  his  recollections  of  his 
life,  but  they  were  written  when  he  was  more  than 
seventy  years  of  age  and  when  his  memory  and 
descriptive  powers  had  become  unfortunately  im- 
paired. If  he  could  but  have  thrown  into  his  narra- 
tive the  phrases,  emphasis  and  gesture  which  made 
him  so  attractive  as  a  story-teller,  his  reminiscences 
would  have  been  unique.  But  alas,  the  fine  flavor  of 
conversation  is  as  incommunicable  as  tact  and  experi- 
ence. Mere  words  cannot  preserve  them.  They  die 
with  us,  just  as  there  dies  with  an  old  doctor,  the  more 
perhaps  is  the  pity,  that  marvelous  medical  skill  and 
keen  instinct,  which  a  practitioner,  who  has  been  for 
half  a  century  in  contact  with  disease,  acquires,  he 
knows  not  how,  and  which  he  cannot  describe  or  com- 


14  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

municate.  It  must  be  buried  with  him,  to  be  gathered 
afresh  through  experience  by  the  next  generation. 
It  is  perhaps  well  that  it  should  be  so,  for  with  it  is 
buried  all  his  prejudices  and  faulty  conclusions. 

James  Douglas 


CHAPTER  I 

HIS  BOYHOOD  AND  APPRENTICESHIP  TO  A  SURGEON 

"Now  on  the  verge  of  seventy-nine  years  I  realize 
that  time  has  told  and  is  daily  telling  upon  my  men- 
tal and  physical  powers.  Some  of  them  have  been 
cut  off  by  it  altogether,  and  some  are  fading  away." 
Thus  my  father  prefaced  the  story  of  his  life.  His 
recollections  of  long-past  events  were  vivid,  and  they 
are  confirmed  by  journals  which  he  kept  of  three 
of  his  earliest  professional  engagements. 

My  father's  narrative  commences  in  the  conven- 
tional way: 

"In  writing  an  autobiography,  it  is  usual  to  give 
an  account  of  the  writer's  progenitors.  In  accord- 
ance with  this  custom,  I  have  to  state  that  my  Father 
was  the  Son  of  Mr.  Richard  Douglas,  a  Gentleman 
who  had  retired  with  a  competence  from  business  as 
an  Architect  and  Builder.  My  recollections  of  my 
paternal  Grandfather,  are  of  a  tall  old  Gentleman, 
with  a  white  wig,  and  a  gold  headed  cane,  who  used 
to  interest  me  with  accounts  of  his  acquaintance  and 
intercourse  with  John  "Wesley.  He  died  at  Winlaton, 
at  the  age  of  ninety-eight.  My  Father  was  his  sec- 
ond son,  born  in  1769,  brought  up  among  the  early 


16  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

followers  of  John  Wesley,  and  having  personal  knowl- 
edge of  that  remarkable  man,  he  became  strongly  at- 
tached to  him,  and  to  his  doctrines.  I  cannot  do 
better  than  give  an  extract  from  the  minutes  of  the 
Wesleyan  Conference  of  1853,  which  announced  my 
Father's  death: 

"  'His  earliest  associations  being  with  John  Wesley 
and  his  followers,  and  being  also  greatly  influenced 
by  the  councils  and  the  Christian  example  of  his 
Mother,  he  united  himself  with  the  Methodists,  and, 
at  the  Conference  of  1793  was  appointed  to  a  Circuit, 
and  continued  humbly,  laboriously,  and  faithfully,  to 
discharge  his  duties  as  a  Christian  Minister.  While 
praying  with  a  dying  woman,  he  was  seized  with 
paralysis,  and  exchanged  mortality  for  life,  on  Feb- 
ruary, 1853,  in  the  89th  year  of  his  life,  and  in  the 
60th  of  his  Ministry ' 

''During  the  years  1798-9  and  six  years  after  his 
induction  into  the  Ministry,  my  Father  was  sta- 
tioned at  Aberdeen,  in  Scotland,  and  there  became 
acquainted  with  Mr.  James  Mellis,  a  retired  Brewer, 
whose  wife,  nee*  Mary  Stuart,  was  of  an  old  Roman 
Catholic  family;  they  had  two  Children,  a  son  and  a 
daughter.  As  was  usual  then,  as  now,  the  Son  accom- 
panied his  Father  to  the  Scotch  Church,  and  the 
daughter  went  with  her  Mother  to  the  Catholic 
Church.  However,  'Amor  vincit  omnia.'  Miss  Mary 
Mellis  became  the  Wife  of  the  Rev.  George  Douglas. 
They  were  married  in  Aberdeen  on  the  4th  day  of 
July,  1799,  by  the  Rev.  Rt.  Doig,  and  I  was  born  in 
Brechin  in  Angus,  on  20th  of  May,  1800,  and  my 
birth  is  registered  in  the  City  of  Aberdeen.      Dur- 


BOYHOOD  AND  APPRENTICESHIP        17 

ing  the  thirteen  years  subsequent  to  my  birth,  my 
Father  was  stationed  successively  in  Brechin,  in  the 
Isle  of  Man,  in  Carlisle,  and  in  Dumfries,  in  which 
two  latter  places  I  received  the  principal  part  of 
my  education. 

"My  Father  was  very  fond  of  rod  fishing  and 
among  my  early  recollections  are  those  of  accompany- 
ing him  on  his  fishing  excursions.  At  Carlisle,  and 
at  Dumfries,  there  was  capital  trout  fishing,  but,  as 
a  Methodist  Minister  could  not  well  be  seen  going 
thro'  the  Streets  with  a  rod  and  a  basket,  I  had  al- 
ways to  join  him  at  the  rivers  side  with  these  neces- 
saries. ' ' 

My  grandfather  left  a  short  account  of  himself. 
Judging  from  it,  his  life  was  spent  in  one  long  process 
of  introspection  and  self -dissection.  Judging  from 
my  father's  account  of  him,  he  was  a  kindly,  con- 
siderate and  a  very  hard  working,  earnest,  simple 
minded  man,  not  without  his  weaknesses  and  foibles ; 
ruled  by  his  children  rather  than  ruling  them.  When 
I  saw  him,  only  a  month  before  his  death,  he  looked 
like  John  Wesley  personified. 

He  had  the  same  strong  features  we  are  so  familiar 
with  in  the  likeness  of  John  Wesley  that  prefaced 
his  hymn  book.  His  hair  was  long  and  flowed  in 
thick  white  curls  over  his  shoulders.  The  old  gentle- 
man, though  in  his  89th  year,  was  vigorous  in  body 
but  much  enfeebled  in  mind.  His  only  literary  work 
had  been  collecting  religious  anecdotes.  Early  in 
the  last  century  religious  anecdotes  were  as  popular 
among  those  attached  to  evangelicalism  as  were  the 
Percy  anecdotes  in  secular  circles.     His  collection 


18  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

filled  several  volumes  and  passed  through  several 
editions.  The  anecdotes  were  grouped  under  head- 
ings in  the  usual  disjointed  manner  of  compilations 
of  that  kind,  the  doings  and  sayings  of  saints  side 
by  side  with  those  of  sinners,  each  anecdote  carrying 
its  appropriate  theological  moral. 

Napoleon  Bonaparte  and  Lady  Huntington,  though 
in  very  different  spheres,  had  been  both  prominent 
characters  in  his  day  and  afforded  material  for  many 
of  his  anecdotes.  When  I  had  the  privilege  of  being 
with  him,  just  before  his  death,  he  spent  hours  tell- 
ing me  stories,  all  composed  of  the  shattered  frag- 
ments of  his  old  stock,  linked  together  in  the  most 
grotesque  and  incongruous  combination.  Napoleon 
and  Lady  Huntington  were  still  uppermost  in  his 
mind,  and  they  figured  together  in  the  same  narrative 
in  exquisitely  amusing  situations.  As  in  the  case 
of  most  aged  people  the  imagination  survived  the 
memory.  When  the  dear  old  gentleman  went  in 
search  of  his  hat  and  cane  to  visit  his  parishioners, 
all  of  whom  had  been  for  a  generation  in  their 
graves,  the  only  means  of  diverting  him  was  to  give 
him  a  clew  which  started  him  on  a  round  of  his 
anecdotes. 

My  father's  Journal  continues: 

"During  the  winter  of  1812-13,  I  was  sent  to  the 
Wesleyan  College  at  Woodhouse  Grove  in  Yorkshire, 
and  there  placed  in  Sallust;  certainly,  I  was  in  the 
first  class,  but,  having  left  the  Academy  in  Dumfries, 
where  I  was  advanced  in  Virgil,  I  found  myself 
losing  time.    Having  in  vain  urged  my  Father  to  re- 


BOYHOOD  AND  APPRENTICESHIP        19 

move  me,  I  took  French  leave,  and  started  for  Dum- 
fries on  foot." 

The  father  submitted  to  what  the  boy  of  twelve 
dictated,  to  the  irreparable  injury  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  lad  and  the  future  man.  A  strong  dis- 
position, uncontrolled  in  early  life,  became  in  later 
life  objectionably  wilful.  When  under  the  strain 
of  overwork,  and  when  irritated  by  confreres,  who 
were  professionally  his  inferiors,  he  was  apt  to 
yield  to  unbecoming  displays  of  temper  and  to  of- 
fensive arbitrariness.  An  unhesitating  reliance  on  his 
own  judgment  remained  as  a  prominent  trait  of  his 
character.  And  he  possessed  to  an  eminent  degree 
the  faculty  of  self-justification  which  accompanies 
most  self-reliant  natures.    The  Journal  continues: 

"At  the  ensuing  Conference,  my  Father  was  sta- 
tioned at  Penrith  in  Cumberland,  and  I  was  bound 
there  for  five  years,  as  an  apprentice  to  Dr.  Thomas 
Law,  an  uncle  of  the  late  Lord  Ellenborough.  My 
endenture  is  dated  on  October  3rd,  1813. 

"Penrith  was  in  the  centre  of  the  Lake  country. 
The  county  was  studded  with  the  castles,  the  halls, 
and  the  mansions  of  many  of  the  nobility  and  gentry — 
the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  the  Earl  of  Lonsdale,  Earl 
Thanet,  Lady  Brougham,  Sir  Henry  Dacre,  and  others, 
As  Dr.  Law  was  the  principal  Medical  Man,  he  as 
was  then  the  custom,  made  up  and  dispensed  his  own 
prescriptions,  I  therefore  found  myself  fully  occupied. 

"Medical  pupillage  in  England  sixty  years  ago,  was 
different  to  what  it  now  is,  and  very  different  indeed 
to  what  it  is  in  Canada.  A  statement  of  my  duties 
and  my  privileges  as  an  apprentice,  will  best  illustrate 


20  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

this.  During  the  second  year  of  my  time,  I  had 
charge  of  the  Surgery,  and  made  up  the  prescriptions. 
I  had  to  visit  the  pauper  class,  as  well  in  the  country 
as  in  the  town,  and  to  report  on  any  emergency  or  on 
the  appearance  of  any  grave  symptom.  Unless  occu- 
pied in  the  Surgery,  I  was  allowed  between  eight  and 
nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  for  recreation,  and  occa- 
sionally a  day 's  holiday,  for  trout  fishing  in  the  river 
Eamont,  or  in  one  of  the  neighbouring  lakes,  or  for 
rook-shooting  in  the  woods  of  Lowther  Castle  or  of 
Brougham  Hall. 

"As  perquisites,  I  had  the  shilling,  which  was  the 
fee  for  blood-letting  or  tooth-drawing.  That  for 
blood-letting  particularly  was  very  remunerative  as 
it  was  the  custom  of  the  country  people,  generally  to 
be  bled  every  Spring,  and  of  many,  every  Spring  and 
Autumn.  These  perquisites,  during  three  and  a  half 
years  of  my  apprenticeship  rendered  me  independent 
of  my  Father,  for  the  expense  of  clothes  and  pocket 
money.  In  the  Autumn  of  1818,  having  completed 
my  indenture,  I  left  Penrith  with  many  pleasant 
reminiscences  of  the  time  I  had  spent  there,  and  of  the 
kindness  of  Dr.  Law  and  of  his  amiable  wife. 

"I  am  not  generally  a  laudator  temporis  acti,  but 
I  must  say,  that,  in  my  opinion,  the  training  of  Medi- 
cal Students  sixty  years  ago,  was  calculated  to  turn 
out  more  efficient  and  practical  men,  than  the  system 
of  pupillage  of  the  present  day.  The  former  gave 
them  a  more  thorough  and  minute  knowledge  of  the 
materia  medica,  and  of  its  use  and  effects  in  grave  dis- 
ease, as  well  as  in  trifling  ailments;  it  moreover  gave 
them  habits  of  thought,  of  reflection,  and  of  self-re- 


BOYHOOD  AND  APPRENTICESHIP        21 

liance  and  responsibility,  which  were  a  solid  ground 
work  for  general  practice.  In  Minor  Surgery,  the 
training  of  the  pupil  in  the  treatment  of  injuries,  in 
the  application  of  bandages,  and  in  the  numerous  little 
offices  for  alleviating  the  effects  of  disease,  gave  him, 
as  a  general  practitioner,  a  great  advantage  over  a 
student,  whose  medical  and  surgical  education  is  re- 
stricted to  lectures,  and  to  witnessing  the  ordinary 
practice  in  the  wards  of  an  hospital,— whose  knowl- 
edge of  drugs  is  confined  to  books,  and  who  is  unable 
to  distinguish  between  arsenic,  tartar  emetic,  and  com- 
mon salt." 

Dr.  Law  cancelled  the  indenture  on  September  1, 
though  it  did  not  expire  till  October  3,  that  my 
father  might  spend  a  month  at  home  before  enter- 
ing himself  as  a  student  of  medicine  at  Edinburgh. 
The  original  of  his  indenture  is  in  my  possession.  It 
is  as  follows: 

INDENTURE  DULY  MADE  ON  THE  3ED  DAY  OF  OC- 
TOBER, 1813  APPRENTICING  James  Douglas,  Son  of 
the  Reverend  George  Douglas  of  Penrith,  Cumberland,  to 
Thomas  Law,  Surgeon  and  Apothecary,  for  the  term  of  five 
years. 

THIS  INDENTURE  Made  the  third  Day  of  October  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirteen 
Between  The  Reverend  George  Douglas  of  Penrith  in  the 
County  of  Cumberland  And  James  Douglas  of  the  same  place 
the  son  of  the  said  George  Douglas  of  the  one  part  and  Thomas 
Law  of  the  same  place  Surgeon  and  Apothecary  of  the  other 
part  WITNESSETH  That  the  said  James  Douglas  of  his  own 
free  Will  and  by  and  with  the  Licence  and  Consent  of  the 
said  George  Douglas  his  natural  and  lawful  father  and  Guard- 
ian testified  by  his  being  a  party  to  and  Signing  and  sealing 
these  presents  Hath  put  placed  and  bound  himself  Apprentice 


22  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

to  the  said  Thomas  Law  to  learn  and  be  taught  the  trade  art 
mystery  or  business  of  a  surgeon  Apothecary  and  Man- 
midwife  Which  he  the  said  Thomas  Law  now  practices  and 
to  continue  with  and  serve  him  as  an  apprentice  from  the 
day  of  the  date  of  these  presents  for  and  during  and  unto 
the  full  end  and  term  of  five  years  from  thence  next  ensuing 
and  fully  to  be  completed  and  ended.  AND  the  said  George 
Douglas  Doth  for  himself  his  Heirs  Executors  and  Adminis- 
trators and  for  each  and  every  of  them  and  for  the  said  James 
Douglas  his  Son  Covenant  promise  and  agree  to  and  with  the 
said  Thomas  Law  his  Executors  Administrators  and  Assigns 
by  these  presents  in  manner  and  form  following  (that  is  to 
say) 

That  he  the  said  James  Douglas  shall  and  will  diligently 
and  faithfully  serve  him  the  said  Thomas  Law,  his  Secrets 
keep,  his  lawful  Commands  do  and  perform,  Damage  to  his 
said  Master  he  shall  not  do  nor  Willingly  permit  to  be  done 
by  others,  the  goods  of  his  said  Master  he  shall  not  Waste, 
nor  lend  them  without  his  Consent  to  any,  he  shall  neither 
buy  nor  sell  without  his  Masters  leave,  Taverns  Inns  or  Ale- 
houses he  shall  not  frequent,  At  Cards  Dice  or  any  unlawful 
game  he  shall  not  play,  Fornication  Commit  nor  Matrimony 
contract  nor  from  the  service  of  his  said  Master  Day  or  night 
shall  Absent  himself,  but  in  all  things  as  an  honest  and  faith- 
ful apprentice  shall  and  will  demean  and  behave  himself 
towards  his  said  Master  and  all  his  during  all  the  said  term 
of  five  years.  ALSO  That  he  the  said  George  Douglas  shall 
and  will  during  all  the  said  Term  of  five  years  find  provide 
and  allow  for  the  said  James  Douglas  his  son  sufficient  and 
proper  Meat  Drink  Wearing  Apparel  Washing  and  Lodging 
AND  the  said  Thomas  Law  in  Consideration  of  the  premises 
and  for  and  in  Consideration  of  the  Sum  of  five  Shillings  of 
good  and  lawful  money  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  Current  in  England  in  hand  well  and 
truly  paid  by  the  said  George  Douglas  at  or  before  the  sign- 
ing and  sealing  of  these  preesnts  The  Receipt  Whereof  is 
hereby  Acknowledged  Doth  for  himself  his  Heirs  Executors 
and  Administrators  and  for  each  and  every  of  them  covenant 
promise  and  agree  to  and  with  the  said  George  Douglas  and 


BOYHOOD  AND  APPRENTICESHIP        23 

James  Douglas  That  he  the  said  Thomas  Law  according  to  the 
best  of  his  power  skill  and  knowledge  shall  and  will  teach 
and  Instruct  or  cause  to  be  taught  and  Instructed  him  the 
said  James  Douglas  in  the  said  Trade,  Art,  Mystery  and  busi- 
ness of  a  Surgeon  Apothecary  and  Man  Midwife  and  in  all 
things  Whatsoever  incident  and  belonging  thereto  in  such 
manner  as  he  the  said  Thomas  Law  now  or  at  any  time  here- 
after during  the  said  term  of  five  years  shall  use  practice 
teach  or  deal  in  the  same  IN  WITNESS  WHEREOF  the  said 
parties  to  these  presents  have  hereunto  set  their  hands  and 
seals  the  day  and  year  first  above  written. 
Signed  Sealed  and  delivered 
(being  first  duly  stamp't) 

GEORGE   DOUGLAS    (SEAL) 
(Sd)     Henry  Law  JAS.  DOUGLAS  (SEAL) 

(Wm.)   Jackson  THO.  LAW  (SEAL) 

Penrith  Sept.  1,  1818. 

I  hereby  certify  that  James  Douglas  has  faithfully  com- 
pleted his  Apprenticeship  to  this  day  and  that  I  give  him  the 
remainder  of  his  service  that  he  may  visit  his  Father  and 
Friends. 

Tho.  Law. 


CHAPTER  II 

STUDIES  MEDICINE  IN  EDINBURGH  AND  SPENDS  HIS 
SUMMER  HOLIDAYS  AS  SURGEON  OF  A  SPITZBERGEN 
WHALER 

The  Journal  gives  with  some  detail  the  account 
of  his  first  years  at  Edinburgh  University: 

' '  In  October,  1818,  I  arrived  in  Edinburgh,  and  took 
lodgings  with  a  respectable  widow  in  Niddry  Street. 
My  menage  was  of  an  humble  description,  I  paid 
four  shillings  a  week  for  my  room,  lodging,  and  cook- 
ing; I  found  myself;  and  on  the  whole,  I  passed  the 
winter  comfortably.  My  curriculum  at  the  Univer- 
sity, comprised  the  practice  of  the  Hospital,  the  lec- 
tures on  the  practice  of  Physic  by  Dr.  Gregory,— on 
Chemistry  by  Dr.  Hope,— on  Obstetrics  by  Dr.  Ham- 
ilton and  on  Anatomy  by  Dr.  Barclay.  My  memo- 
ries of  these  professors  are  very  vivid.  Dr.  Gregory 
was  a  magnificent  specimen  of  a  Scottish  gentleman; 
tall,  stately  and  dignified,  urbane  in  manner,  and  with 
the  faculty  of  impressing  his  class  with  the  matter 
of  his  lecture.  Dr.  Hope  conveyed  an  impression  of 
extreme  self  importance.  He  was  intolerant  of  the 
least  noise  or  interruption,  and  perceiving  this,  the 
scamps  of  students  took  advantage  of  it,  by  stamp- 


26  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

ing,  and  making  noisy  demonstrations  on  the  result  of 
each  experiment.  Dr.  Hamilton  was  a  small  and  rather 
fidgety  gentleman,  very  impressive  in  manner,  and  a 
good  lecturer.  There  was  another  Dr.  Hamilton,  a 
square  built,  stately  old  gentleman  with  a  cocked 
hat,  and  a  dress  of  ancient  cut ;  he  was  distinguished 
from  Dr.  G.  Hamilton,  the  Obstetrician,  by  the  sob- 
riquet of  Cocky  Hamilton.  But  my  beau  ideal  of 
a  lecturer  was  Dr.  Barclay,  a  quaint,  active,  and  im- 
pulsive little  man,  who  gave  two  separate  and  distinct 
courses  of  lectures  each  session,  one  of  them  at  11 
A.  M.,  and  another  at  6  P.  M.  daily.  He  went  into  the 
matter  of  his  lecture  and  demonstrations  with  his 
whole  heart  and  soul.  In  the  middle  of  a  demonstra- 
tion, if  he  had  occasion  to  refer  to  some  authority, 
he  would  take  the  scalpel  between  his  teeth,  while 
he  turned  over  the  leaves  of  the  book." 

Short  as  the  session  was,  he  cut  it  shorter  to  accept 
the  position  of  surgeon  to  a  Greeland  whaler. 

His  Journal  of  that,  to  him,  eventful  voyage  was 
published  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Literary  and 
Historical  Society  of  Quebec  for  1873,  and  was  con- 
sidered of  sufficient  interest  by  that  most  critical  of 
weeklies,  the  Saturday  Review,  to  deserve  a  long 
article,  in  which  the  information  it  contained  was 
summarized  with  considerable  amplitude.  The  critic 
says:  "We  have  before  us  the  'Transactions  of  the 
Literary  and  Historical  Society  of  Quebec'  for  the 
session  of  1873.  .  .  .  Perhaps  the  most  interest- 
ing paper  in  this  series  is  the  'Journal  of  an  Arctic 
Voyage'  made  by  the  surgeon  of  a  whaler  fifty-five 


SURGEON  OF  A  WHALER  27 

years  ago.  The  stripling  of  nineteen  years,  who  was 
thus  entrusted  with  the  health  and  lives  of  fifty  men, 
is  now  an  M.  D.  of  seventy-four,  and  cherishes  in  a 
Canadian  home  the  memories  of  a  youth  passed  in 
Britain.  The  author  sailed  from  Hull,  which  was 
then  largely  concerned  in  whaling.  It  is  not  wonder- 
ful that  the  supply  of  northern  whales  should  have 
failed  under  the  systematic  persecution  of  which  this 
Journal  furnishes  an  example.  Even  the  surgeon 
had  an  interest  in  the  fishery,  being  entitled  to  a 
guinea  on  every  whale  caught.  The  government  al- 
lowed a  bounty.  The  system  of  bounties  has  been 
long  since  condemned,  but  if  any  trade  deserved 
encouragement  it  was  that  of  whaling,  without  which 
scientific  voyages  to  the  Polar  Sea  would  not  have 
been  made." 

I  reproduce  the  Journal,  omitting  a  few  unimpor- 
tant paragraphs: 

A  WHALING  VOYAGE  TO  SPITZBEEGEN  IN  1818. 
By  JAMES  DOUGLAS,  M.D. 

[The  perusal  of  a  journal  which  was  kept  in  high  northern 
latitudes  fifty-five  years  ago,  may  not  he  without  interest 
at  this  time,  when  so  great  attention  is  being  given  to  the 
late  discoveries  in  the  Arctic  regions,  and  to  the  expeditions 
now  being  fitted  out  in  the  confident  hope  of  reaching  the 
North  Pole,  through  the  open  water  which  is  supposed  to 
exist  to  the  north  of  Spitzbergen. 

This  journal  is  given  verbatim  et  literatim,  as  written  at 
the  time;  and  allowance  must  be  asked  for  it  as  the  unaided 
production  of  a  youth  of  eighteen  years  of  age,  who  went  out 
as  surgeon  of  a  whaler,  which,  in  pursuit  of  the  objects  of 
its  voyage,  reached  the  high  northern  latitude  of  81. 

It  was   written   currente   calamo,   without  any  pretensions 


28  MY  FATHEK'S  JOURNAL 

to  style  or  scientific  knowledge,  and  without  any  idea  of  its 
being  seen  by  any  excepting  the  members  of  the  writer's  own 
family. 

The  intrepid  Arctic  navigators — the  brothers  Dannatt,  the 
Scoresbys  (father  and  son),  Capt.  Sadler,  and  others,  who 
navigated  the  Polar  regions  at  the  close  of  the  last  century 
and  at  the  early  part  of  the  present,  have  passed  away,  and, 
excepting  the  younger  Scoresby,  have  left  no  record  behind 
them.  I  perfectly  recollect,  however,  that  Capt.  Ed.  Dannatt 
and  Capt.  Ashe  expressed  their  belief  in  the  existence  of 
land  at  or  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Pole.  They  based  their 
belief  on  the  appearance  of  the  heavy  ice  and  on  the  detached 
icebergs  which,  during  the  summer  season,  were  drifted  by 
the  current  to  the  southward.] 


While  a  medical  student  in  Edinburgh,  during  the  winter 
session  of  1818,  I  received  an  appointment  as  surgeon  of  the 
ship  Trafalgar,  of  Hull,  Captain  E.  Dannatt,  commander, 
during  a  voyage  to  the  Arctic  regions;  and  at  the  same  time 
was  notified  to  report  myself  at  Hull  on  or  before  the  12th 
March,  for  the  purpose  of  submitting  myself  to  the  medical 
examiner  appointed  by  Government  to  examine  into  the 
qualifications  and  fitness  of  candidates.  This  examination 
is  not  very  strict,  and  consisted  in  ascertaining  that  I  had 
served  an  apprenticeship  of  five  years  to  Dr.  Tho.  Law  (an 
uncle  of  Lord  Ellenborough ) ,  and  that  I  had  passed  a  session 
at  college  in  Edinburgh.  However,  with  my  certificate  of 
qualification,  I  entered  into  office  at  once,  at  a  salary  of  four 
guineas  a  month,  one  guinea  for  every  whale  caught,  and  one 
guinea  for  every  thousand  seals  killed.  I  was  supplied  with 
everything  needful,  with  the  exception  of  clothes  and  bedding. 

March  13th. — The  King's  officers  came  on  board  this  morn- 
ing and  mustered  the  crew,  to  the  number  of  36.  This  is  done 
by  the  Government,  which  allows  a  bounty  of  £300  to  each 
ship,  as  well  as  the  spirits,  tea,  coffee,  sugar,  and  all  other 
dutiable  articles,  duty  free.  On  their  part,  the  owners  are 
bound  to  carry  and  man  at  least  seven  boats,  with  seven  men 
to  each  boat.     As  this,  during  war-time,  is  difficult,  and  as 


SURGEON  OF  A  WHALER  29 

Government  is  extremely  desirous  to  encourage  the  fishery,  it 
exempts  the  requisite  number  of  harpooneers,  boat-steerers, 
and  other  skilled  hands,  from  the  press-gang;  and  obliges 
the  owners  to  fill  up  the  requisite  crew  by  taking  Shetland- 
men,  in  passing:  these  are  a  hardy  race  of  men,  and,  from 
their  almost  amphibious  habits,  are  admirably  adapted  for 
boat-work. 

The  fresh  provisions  and  other  stores  being  got  on  board, 
the  Trafalgar  left  dock,  passed  the  Spurn-lights  with  a  fair 
wind,  and  got  fairly  to  sea  with  a  light  S.W.  wind,  which 
continued  until  the  20th,  when  we  made  Fair  Island,  a  very 
rocky,  barren,  and  mountainous-looking  place,  inhabited  by  a 
few  poor  fishermen,  who  certainly  surprised  me  by  their  faculty 
of  keeping  their  souls  and  bodies  together.  In  the  afternoon 
of  the  same  day,  Sunbrough  Head,  the  most  southerly  point 
of  Shetland,  came  in  sight;  and  we  were  boarded  by  a  pilot, 
who  took  us  in  due  time  into  Brassa  Sound.  During  my 
stay  in  Lerwick  I  was  most  hospitably  entertained  by  Mr. 
Morrison,  an  agent,  who  made  my  stay  there  a  very  agreeable 
one.  Next  day  being  Sunday,  I  attended  divine  service,  where 
I  heard  a  most  eloquent  and  impressive  sermon  by  a  venerable 
old  man,  in  a  church  far  inferior  in  architectural  beauty  to 
an  ordinary  barn. 

The  whole  trade  of  Lerwick  is  carried  on  between  it  and 
Leith  in  two  small  sloops,  which  take  to  Leith  eggs,  poultry, 
stockings,  and  salted  geese, — bringing  back  such  necessaries 
as  they  require.  Lerwick  is  principally  noted  as  the  ren- 
dezvous of  the  Greenland-men  on  their  way  to  and  from  the 
north,  and  as  the  place  where  their  crews  are  completed. 
On  Thursday  I  took  an  excursion  inland  for  a  few  miles,  and 
was  amply  repaid  for  the  want  of  roads  by  some  of  the  most 
rugged  and  romantic  scenery  I  had  ever  seen. 

On  returning  to  the  ship  I  found  all  hands  busy  in  prepar- 
ing the  ship  for  the  ice.  Some  were  bending  gaff-topsails  and 
fixing  booms  to  the  main  and  fore  sails,  striking  the  royal 
masts,  and  generally  putting  the  ship  into  such  a  condition 
that  at  any  time,  and  particularly  when  in  the  ice  or  very 
short-handed,  the  ship  could  be  worked  with  very  few  hands. 
Others  were  fitting  out  a  machine  called  a  crow's-nest,  to  be 


30  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

placed  on  the  top  of  the  main-top-gallant-mast,  to  protect 
the  man  on  the  look-out  when  the  ship  is  in  the  ice.  This 
crow's-nest,  as  it  is  called,  looks  like  an  old-fashioned  pulpit; 
it  is  made  out  of  a  cask  or  puncheon,  well  lined  with  skins 
or  Kusso  mats;  the  very  top  of  the  top-gallant-mast  serves 
as  a  seat;  a  shifting  weather-board  protects  the  look-out,  who 
is  able  to  get  in  by  thrusting  himself  through  a  trap-door 
in  the  bottom.  The  whole  affair  looks  extremely  cosy  and 
comfortable.  Others  of  the  men  were  engaged  hanging  up 
quarters  of  fresh  beef  and  other  meat, — among  which  were  a 
number  of  legs  of  mutton  intended  for  the  owners  and  their 
friends  on  the  return  of  the  ship  to  Hull.  In  the  evening, 
as  a  boat  was  pushing  off  from  the  stairs,  two  men  jostled 
and  fell  overboard;  one  was  at  once  picked  up.  When  pushing 
off  a  second  time,  one  of  the  crew  reached  to  pick  up  a  hat 
on  the  water,  and  found  a  man  under  it,  senseless;  when  got 
on  board  he  soon  recovered. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  week  the  crew  were  variously 
employed  in  preparing  the  vessel  for  the  ice,  and  in  laying 
in  stocks  of  eggs,  fowls,  frozen  milk,  &c.  The  crew  were 
again  mustered,  together  with  18  Shetland-men — in  all,  54 
souls.  They  were  then  divided  into  three  watches,  and  again 
subdivided  into  boats'  crew — 7  boats,  with  7  men  in  each, 
viz:  a  harpooneer  in  the  bow,  a  boat-steerer,  who  stands  on 
the  platform  on  the  stern,  and  a  seaman  called  a  specksoneer, 
who  has  charge  of  the  whale-lines  which  lay  coiled  in  the 
middle  of  the  boat.  The  Shetland-men  only  row:  all  pull, 
except  the  steerer,  who  steers  with  a  long  oar  fastened  to  a 
pivot  on  the  stern.  For  some  days  the  ship  was  prevented 
proceeding  to  sea  in  consequence  of  gales  of  wind  from  the 
N.W.,  alternating  with  heavy  fogs.  One  vessel,  the  Prescott, 
Greenlandman,  in  attempting  it,  went  on  the  rocks,  and  was 
totally  wrecked  in  the  Sound  by  the  rocks  going  through  her 
bottom. 

On  the  1st  of  April  we  succeeded  in  getting  to  sea  with  a 
fair  wind,  with  occasional  heavy  squalls.  Being  Sabbath- 
day,  I,  for  the  first  time,  performed  my  functions  as  chaplain, 
by  reading  the  common-prayer  used  by  the  Church  of  England. 
As  the  captain,  first  officer,  and  most  of  the  crew,  however, 


SUKGEON  OF  A  WHALER  31 

were  Wesleyans,  I  made  compensation  by  reading  the  whole 
or  a  part  of  one  of  Wesley's  sermons.  The  singing  was 
more  remarkable  for  its  force  than  its  sweetness.  In  the 
evening  got  a  thorough  drenching  by  shipping  a  heavy  sea. 

April  3rd. — Wind  still  fair;  great  numbers  of  birds  hovering 
about  the  ship,  rather  less  in  size  than  a  hen,  and  of  a 
dirty  white  color ;  they  are  very  fearless  of  man,  very  ravenous, 
and  are  sometimes  caught  by  the  men  with  a  line  and  a 
hook  baited  with  a  piece  of  any  fat  meat.  When  taken  and 
daubed  over  with  soot,  and  let  off  again,  they  are  instantly 
set  upon  and  destroyed  by  the  others.  They  are  called 
Mallemouches,  or  by  the  sailors  Mollymawks. 

8th. — Very  stormy  and  dark;  wind  N.E.,  and  excessively 
cold.  As  the  day  advanced  it  blew  harder,  with  occasional 
sleet  and  snow,  which  rendered  the  decks  dangerously  slippery. 
Towards  the  evening  it  blew  a  hurricane,  and  the  sea  ran 
mountains  high.  The  sails  were  all  clewed  up,  except  the 
close-reefed  fore-top-sail,  and  that  only  to  give  the  ship 
steerage-way. 

9th. — Good  Friday. — The  wind  still  boisterous,  but  inter- 
mittent. About  11  o'clock  we  got  among  the  ice  for  the  first 
time,  in  72  north  latitude — longitude  not  known.  Ice  seemed 
newly  formed,  and  was  in  small  flat  pieces,  which,  from  their 
friction  against  each  other,  were  round.  This  kind  of  ice 
is  called  by  the  seamen  "pancakes."  As  the  ship  bored 
through  them,  we  found  the  pieces  getting  gradually  larger 
and  larger;  and  the  heavy  swell  we  had  in  the  morning  almost 
entirely  subsided.  After  boring  through  the  ice  until  moon- 
light, the  ship  was  laid-to  among  pieces  from  20  to  40  feet 
in  diameter,  and  of  irregular  shapes.  We  now  experienced 
no  night,  only  a  duskiness  for  a  couple  of  hours. 

10th. — Weather  still  stormy,  with  heavy  falls  of  snow  and 
sleet.  A  good  many  seals  on  the  pieces  of  ice,  but  the 
weather  too  bad  to  lower  the  boats  for  them. 

11th. — Wind  blowing  with  increased  violence,  with  a  very 
heavy  swell;  a  circumstance  most  unusual  among  ice.  In 
consequence  of  the  ship  laboring  so  hard  and  beating  with  so 
much  violence  against  the  ice,  were  obliged  to  get  out  to  sea 


32  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

again  to  prevent  the  vessel  being  staved.  Intensely  cold. 
About  noon  the  weather  cleared  up,  and  we  found  ourselves 
close  in  to  the  island  of  Jan  Mayen.  This  island  was  first 
discovered  by  the  Dutcb,  and  for  many  years  was  frequented 
by  them.  They  built  huts  for  the  purpose  of  boiling  the  fat 
of  the  whale  and  of  the  seals.  They  made  more  than  one 
attempt  to  winter  on  it,  but  failed,  the  men  being  always 
found  dead  on  the  return  of  the  vessels  in  spring.  It  is 
now  entirely  abandoned  to  the  Polar  bears  and  the  white 
foxes.  It  is  rarely  seen  by  the  Greenland-men,  and  only  oc- 
casionally by  the  vessels  in  search  of  seals.  It  is  very  rugged, 
rocky7,  and  mountainous;  the  highest  peak  is  called  Beeren- 
berg;  it  is  a  volcano,  and  used  to  emit  considerable  quan- 
tities of  fire,  smoke  stones,  and  ashes.  Of  late  it  has  been 
quiet,  or,  rather,  no  eruption  has  been  observed,  perhaps 
from  not  being  so  much  frequented.  Several  of  the  smaller 
hills,  from  their  appearance,  seem  to  have  had  a  volcanic 
origin.  At  night,  the  wind  abating,  the  ship  stood  away 
from  the  island,  lest  it  should  turn  calm  or  blow  on  shore. 

13th. — Wind  from  N.E.  again,  and  a  strong  gale.  Threw 
overboard  30  tons  of  ballast  to  lighten  the  ship.  Sails 
close-reefed,  and  a  very  heavy  sea. 

15th. — Gale  continues;  at  noon,  by  observation,  were  in 
latitude  70.26  N.,  having  been  driven  two  degrees  to  the 
south  by  the  gale.  In  the  evening,  saw  the  top  of  Beerenberg 
for  the  first  time,  distant  between  60  and  70  miles. 

16th. — Weather  beautiful  and  clear;  ship  beating  to  wind- 
ward with  all  sails  set,  in  a  clear  sea.  In  the  afternoon 
were  visited  by  two  tinners — the  Balaena-Physalus  of  natural- 
ists; they  gambolled  about  the  vessel,  apparently  feeding,  for 
a  considerable  length  of  time.  The  larger  one  could  not  be 
less  than  90  feet  long.  Finners,  when  full-grown,  are  much 
longer  than  the  true  whale,  and  are  readily  distinguished  by 
a  large  fin  on  the  back.  They  are  not  so  fat  as  the  Mysticitus; 
the  whalebone  is  shorter,  broader,  and  brittle, — consequently, 
of  no  value  or  use;  their  velocity  in  the  water  is  greater, 
and  their  progress  is  performed  by  much  more  elevated  curves 
or  bounds.    In  consequence  of  their  amazing  muscular  strength 


SURGEON  OF  A  WHALER  33 

and  activity  in  the  water,  they  are  never  attacked  by  the 
fishermen. 

17th. — Weather  dull,  with  occasional  light  showers  of  snow. 
At  mid-day  it  cleared  up,  and  we  found  ourselves  in  streams 
of  thin  ice;  Jan  Mayen  N.E.,  distant  about  seven  miles.  The 
mountain  distinctly  seen  from  its  base  to  its  top;  its  height 
is  about  7,000  feet;  the  summit  seemed  to  be  smoking.  Saw 
number  of  seals  on  the  ice,  but  could  not  succeed  in  killing 
any  of  them,  as,  being  older  and  wiser,  they  tumbled  into  the 
sea  at  our  approach. 

18th. — Nearly  calm,  and  the  weather  beautifully  clear.  We 
lay  close  in  to  the  island,  so  close  that  we  enjoyed  a  fine 
view  of  the  icebergs  attached  to  the  land.  In  the  evening  the 
scene  was  enlivened  by  the  arrival  of  some  small  Dutch  vessels 
in  search  of  seals.  These  are  uncommonly  scarce,  and  are  sup- 
posed to  have  taken  their  annual  migration  to  the  north. 
Many  thousands  are  annually  killed  at  the  west  ice,  prin- 
cipally by  the  Dutch,  who  fit  out  a  great  many  small  vessels 
for  the  purpose,  and  are  very  dexterous.  They  leave  Holland 
late  in  February  or  early  in  March,  and  proceed  direct  to  the 
ice,  which  they  strive  to  make  in  latitude  67  or  68  N.,  and 
return  early  in  May.  They  are  generally  very  successful, 
much  more  so  than  the  British,  who  send  no  vessels  expressly 
for  the  purpose.  Some  of  the  Greenland-men  occasionally 
call  at  the  west  ice,  as  we  are  now  doing;  and  if,  after  explor- 
ing it  for  a  few  days,  they,  like  us,  do  not  meet  with  seals, 
they  proceed  to  the  north,  to  the  more  profitable  fishery  of 
the  whale.  Seals  are  gregarious,  and  at  this  season  are  found 
in  flocks  of  many  thousands.  At  this  time  they  are  young; 
and  I  do  not  know  whether  it  is  from  their  age  or  from  the 
torpidity  caused  by  the  cold,  but  they  allow  the  sailors  to 
get  on  the  pieces  of  ice  and  knock  them  on  the  head  with  a 
club.  After  their  migration  to  the  northward  they  are  very 
wary,  and  make  into  the  water  on  the  first  approach  of  an 
enemy. 

19th. — Quite  calm,  and  beautiful  clear  weather;  attempted 
to  shoot  some  birds,  but,  owing  to  the  extreme  cold,  I  could  not 
hold  the  gun.  The  birds  principally  about  the  ship  are  loons, 
a  curious  bird,  about  the  size  of  a  wild-duck — black,  with  a 


34  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

white  breast  and  belly;  the  wings  are  placed  very  far  back, 
the  legs  long  and  web-footed:  They  possess  the  singular 
faculty  of  being  able  to  fly  under  water,  not  so  fast  as  in 
the  air,  but  still  with  a  tolerable  degree  of  velocity.  Flocks 
of  them  occasionally  pass  the  ship  under  water,  and  in  clear 
calm  weather  are  easily  seen  from  the  deck. 

20th. — Fine  weather,  and  fair  wind.  Relinquished  our 
search  for  seals,  and  bore  away  to  the  north. 

21st. — Strong  wind  from  S.E.  Ship  boring  to  the  north 
through  streams  of  light  ice.  Weather  extremely  cold.  Dur- 
ing last  night  lost  sight  of  Jan  Mayen  and  of  most  of  the 
birds  which  tised  to  hover  around  us.  Now  and  then  only  a 
solitary  bird,  called  a  burgomaster,  to  be  seen;  they  are  very 
large  and  tall,  and  perfectly  white.  They  are  seldom  or 
never  seen  on  the  water,  but  either  in  the  air  or  perched  on 
a  pinnacle  of  the  ice;  they  are  very  shy. 

23rd. — At  noon  we  were  by  observation  in  lat.  74.30,  and 
weather  excessively  cold. 

24th. — All  hands  busily  employed  in  fitting-out  the  whale- 
boats:  six  lines,  each  about  140  fathoms,  are  smoothly  spliced 
together,  and  coiled  systematically  in  each  boat,  from  the 
centre  of  the  coil  to  the  circumference,  so  that  there  may  be 
no  possibility  of  their  fouling.  A  harpoon  is  attached  to  the 
line,  by  the  medium  of  a  few  fathoms  of  very  fine  and 
flexible  rope.  The  harpoon  itself  is  about  three  feet  long, 
and  is  fitted  with  a  handle  six  or  eight  feet  long.  Each  boat 
is  provided  with  a  pole  about  twenty  feet  long,  called  a 
Jack-staff,  carrying  the  ship's  private  signal.  This  is  hoisted 
when  any  boat  has  struck  a  whale,  to  serve  as  a  signal  to  the 
ship,  as  well  as  to  the  other  boats,  for  assistance.  There  are, 
likewise,  in  each  boat,  three  or  four  lances,  to  dispatch  the 
whale  when  exhausted;  a  wooden  kid,  or  small  bucket,  to 
throw  water  on  the  line  when  running  out,  to  prevent  com- 
bustion from  the  friction;  and  two  long  knives  to  cut  holes 
in  the  tail  for  the  ropes  used  in  towing  the  whale  to  the 
ship.  There  is  always  a  small  and  sharp  axe  in  the  bow, 
ready  to  cut  the  line  in  case  it  should  run  foul.  Each  boat, 
fully  fitted  out,  is  hung  by  tackles  clear  of  the  ship's  side, 
and  can  be  lowered  into  the  water  in  a  few  seconds. 


SURGEON  OF  A  WHALER  35 

25th. — Passed  some  floating  icebergs,  looking  like  ships 
under  sail  at  a  little  distance.  Being  now  on  the  fishing- 
ground,  a  man  is  constantly  stationed  in  the  crow's-nest,  on 
the   look-out. 

26th. — Fine  clear  weather;  huge  masses  of  ice  on  all  sides, 
some  shooting  to  a  great  height,  like  spires.  Some  high 
pieces  with  flat  tops,  and  the  many  smaller  pieces  inter- 
spersed, struck  me  forcibly  as  bearing  a  strong  resemblance 
to  a  large  town  in  winter.  By  obs.  lat.  76.43  N.  Cold  ex- 
treme, everything  fluid  being  frozen  on  the  slightest  ex- 
posure; even  the  rum,  when  exposed  on  deck,  is  rendered 
quite  thick,  like  frozen  oil.  We  now  enjoy  continual  day,  as 
the  sun  revolves  around  us  without  ever  setting;  the  difference 
being  that  it  is  south  at  noon  and  north  at  midnight.  Our 
passage  to  the  north  obstructed  by  packed  ice.  An  immense 
flock  of  seals  passed  us  on  their  migration  northwards. 

27th. — Early  this  morning,  the  ice  opening,  we  made  way 
to  the  northward,  threading  through  the  pieces  with  great 
care.  Again  surrounded  by  birds — burgomasters,  mollymawks, 
loons,  dufkies,  roaches,  and  small  party-colored  birds,  called 
Greenland  parrots.  From  the  shelter  of  the  ice  the  sea  is 
as  smooth  as  glass,  and  the  cold  not  near  so  intense.  At 
noon,  were  by  obs.  in  lat.  77.40  N.  A  large  finner  passed 
us.  During  the  evening  several  unicorns,  the  Monodon- 
Monoceros  of  naturalists,  came  and  sported  around  the  ves- 
sel. They  were  apparently  from  12  to  20  feet  in  length. 
Their  color  is  a  dirty  white,  covered  with  black  spots.  The 
males  have  one  horn  projecting  from  the  upper  jaw,  which 
varies,  according  to  the  age  of  the  animal,  from  a  few 
inches  to  12  feet.  This  horn  is  twisted  from  right  to  left 
spirally,  and  for  hardness  and  capacity  to  receive  polish  is 
equal  to  the  best  of  ivory;  the  horn  is  of  no  known  use  to  the 
animal;  it  is  perhaps  merely  an  attribute  of  the  male.  We 
made  fruitless  attempts  to  strike  one,  but  without  success,  as 
they  were  exceedingly  shy. 

28th. — The  man  in  the  crow's-nest  gave  notice  of  a  whale 
coming  towards  the  ship;  two  boats  were  instantly  manned 
and  lowered.     At  a  short  distance  it  stopped  to  breathe;  the 


36  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

boats  were  within  a  few  yards  of  it,  when  it  took  the  alarm 
and  made  off.  As  it  was  close  to  the  ship,  I  had  a  capital 
chance  of  witnessing  its  motions;  it  lay  half  a  minute  or  so 
on  the  surface,  with  the  crown  of  its  head  and  its  back  out 
of  the  water;  it  then  blew  a  quantity  of  air  and  mucus,  like 
steam,  through  the  air-holes  on  the  top  of  the  head,  and 
gradually  sank  three  or  four  feet,  as  gradually  rising  again; 
it  again  breathed  and  sank.  This  was  repeated  several  times, 
till,  being  alarmed  by  the  approach  of  the  boats,  it  suddenly 
ducked  its  head,  curved  its  back,  and,  giving  its  huge  tail  a 
nourish  in  the  air,  made  off.  When  we  on  deck  saw  Mr. 
Ashe,  the  first  officer,  push  out  his  bow-oar,  jump  up,  and 
seize  his  harpoon,  ready  to  strike,  we  made  sure  of  the  whale; 
and  when  we  saw  it  make  off,  I  know  that  several  lookers-on 
distinctly  broke  the  third  commandment.  In  the  afternoon  a 
number  of  unicorns  sporting  round  the  ship,  but  we  could 
not  succeed  in  striking  one  of  them. 

29th. — At  1  A.  M.  saw  the  land  to  the  eastward,  and  stood 
towards  it  till  9  o'clock,  when  we  were  close  in-shore.  It 
presented  a  chain  of  high  craggy  mountains,  covered  with 
snow;  five  of  them  in  particular  were  very  striking  and 
peaked,  and  appeared  to  be  as  high  as  Beerenberg  on  Jan 
Mayen.  No  signs  of  vegetation — nothing  but  icebergs,  bare 
black  rocks,  and  a  background  of  icy  mountains.  We  were 
on  that  part  of  the  coast  of  Spitzbergen  called  Magdelena 
Bay.  We  did  not  land  or  make  any  stay,  but  proceeded 
along  the  coast  to  the  N.  We  passed  several  icebergs,  some 
of  tolerable  size.  One  we  saw  at  Jan  Mayen,  1400  feet  high, 
did  not  seem  much  larger  than  some  we  see  here.  Continued 
to  the  N.  Another  ship  in  company.  Saw  a  whale,  but  as  it 
was  pursued  by  their  ships'  boats,  took  no  notice  of  it. 
Tried  to  get  some  seals  lying  on  a  piece  of  ice,  but  failed, 
Saw  another  whale;  sent  two  boats  after  it;  but,  after  an 
unsuccessful  chase  of  three  hours,  they  were  signalled  to 
return  on  board. 

30th. — Ship  plying  to  the  N.  through  the  ice;  got  a  heavy 
blow  from  one  of  the  pieces.  The  London  ship  in  company 
with  us  saw  and  struck  a  whale,  which  they  succeeded  in 
killing  in  three  hours,  but  not  until  it  had  killed  one  of  their 


SURGEON  OF  A  WHALER  37 

men  by  a  stroke  of  its  tail;  his  body  was  put  into  a  box, 
and  placed  in  the  mizen-top  for  the  purpose  of  being  taken 
home  to  his  friends. 

May  1st. — This  morning,  a  few  minutes  after  midnight, 
a  sailor,  dressed  up  with  skins,  Russo  matts,  an  enormous 
wig  of  horse-hair  and  oakum,  came  to  the  ship's  bows  as 
Neptune.  His  wife,  as  Amphitrite,  dressed  in  an  equally 
fantastic  manner,  hailed  the  ship,  ordering  the  sailors  to  back 
the  main-yard.  Then,  coming  on  deck,  they  were  mounted 
on  a  gun-carriage,  by  way  of  a  car,  and  drawn  along  the 
ship's  decks  to  the  after-hatchway;  they  were  then  con- 
ducted in  state  to  the  between-decks,  where,  the  crew  being 
mustered,  Neptune  made  a  speech,  that  he,  the  God  of 
the  seas,  was  glad  to  see  them;  and  as  some  of  them,  his 
loving  subjects,  had  never  passed  the  north  cape  of  Europe 
(71.10  N.),  he  would,  assisted  by  his  wife,  shave  them,  so 
that  henceforth  and  forever  they  might  have  the  privilege 
of  navigating  his  dominions  north  of  said  cape.  Those  who 
had  not  been  in  Greenland  before  were  brought  out,  one  by 
one,  and,  being  seated  on  a  large  cask,  Neptune's  wife 
daubed  their  faces  with  a  vile  composition  of  soot,  tar,  and 
oil,  which  was  scraped  off  by  Neptune  with  a  razor  made 
of  a  rusty  iron  hoop.  There  was  no  appeal;  every  one  must 
submit.  One  or  two  obnoxious  lads  were  roughly  treated: 
being  asked  a  question,  as  soon  as  the  mouth  was  open  to 
answer,  the  brush  was  thrust  into  it.  When  called  up,  my 
plea  for  exemption  would  hardly  have  been  listened  to  if  I 
had  not  had  the  key  of  the  spirit-room,  and  used  it  forth- 
with. The  ceremonies  concluded  with  a  dance  and  a  double 
allowance  of  rum.  Bitterly  cold;  ther.  40  below  zero.  In 
the  afternoon  two  whales  rose  near  the  ship;  the  boats  got 
very  near  them,  but  could  not  succeed  in  striking  either  of 
them. 

2nd. — Thick  foggy  weather,  and  intensely  cold.  The  rig- 
ging covered  with  a  saltish  rheum  arising  from  the  sea.  It  is 
deposited  on  the  men's  faces  and  clothes;  from  its  excoriating 
effect  on  the  skin,  it  is  commonly  called  "the  barber."  This 
mist  or  fog  does  not  exist  far  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  as  in 
the  crow's-nest  it  is  quite  clear.     The  ship  laid-to  all  day. 


38  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

5th. — Blowing  hard  from  N.,  with  insufferable  cold, 
rendering  a  person  exposed  to  it  unable  to  articulate  from 
torpidity  or  contraction  of  the  muscles  of  the  face.  The  ice 
coming  down  and  threatening  to  close  us  in,  set  all  sail,  and 
stood  away  to  the  S.  Passed  a  Polar  bear  on  a  piece  of  ice, 
but  were  too  anxious  to  escape  the  danger  which  threatens 
us  to  stop  and  attack  it.  Compared  to  what  I  had  seen  in 
menageries,  it  seemed  a  large  one,  but  was  informed  that  it 
was  not  more  than  half-grown.  In  the  evening  escaped  from 
our  dangerous  position  in  the  iec,  leaving  two  vessels  beset, 
there  to  remain  in  great  danger  until  the  ice  opens  again, 
or  the  current  carries  them  three  or  four  degrees  to  the 
south. 

6th. — Ship  still  making  her  way  to  the  southward,  among 
heavy  ice.  Again  in  danger  of  being  closed  in;  the  only 
passage  was  between  two  heavy  masses  of  ice,  which,  under 
the  influence  of  the  wind  or  current,  were  approaching  each 
other.  When  nearly  through,  the  pieces  came  in  contact 
with  the  ship,  and  crushed  the  two  quarter-boats  to  pieces; 
extremely  glad  to  get  off  so  cheaply.  At  one  o'clock  were  out 
of  danger  from  being  beset  in  the  ice.  During  the  afternoon, 
when  walking  the  deck  with  Capt.  Dannatt,  I  perceived  two 
objects  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  Looking  at  them  at- 
tentively, I  became  convinced  that  they  were  two  human  faces, 
and  at  once  gave  the  alarm.  A  general  laugh,  and  an  ex- 
clamation that  they  were  a  couple  of  walrusses,  set  me  to 
rights.     We  tried  to  harpoon  them,  but  without  success. 

8th. — Wind  more  moderate.  One  ship  in  company  with  us, 
proceeding  to  N.W.  Ran  against  a  piece  of  ice,  which 
started  some  of  the  planks  on  the  starboard  bow.  Noon, 
lat.  by  obs.  79.58  N.  Saw  a  whale,  and  sent  6  boats  after  it; 
but  after  a  fruitless  chase  of  two  hours  they  were  recalled. 
At  6  p.  M.  saw  the  vessel  we  had  been  in  company  with  in 
the  morning,  with  a  signal  of  distress  flying.  It  had  struck 
upon  a  piece  of  ice  and  been  seriously  damaged;  as,  how- 
ever, it  was  to  windward  of  us,  and  as  the  ice  lay  very 
cross,  we  could  not  easily  get  near  them,  so  we  pursued  our 
own  course.     The  ship  was  the  Laurel,  of  Burlington. 


SURGEON  OF  A  WHALER  39 

10th. — Strong  galea  of  wind  and  little  ice.  Saw  several 
whales,  but  too  stormy  to  lower  the  boats.  In  the  evening, 
weather  more  moderate;  received  a  visit  from  Capt.  Cook, 
of  the  Elizabeth,  of  Hull,  who  had  just  killed  a  unicorn,  so 
large  as  to  yield  two  butts  of  oil.  Just  before  midnight  sent 
two  boats  after  a  whale,   but  without  success. 

11th. — Fine  weather,  and  calm.  This  forenoon  an  immense 
sword-fish — Delphinus-Gladiator — passed  close  to  the  ship. 
It  is  said  to  be  the  greatest  enemy  of  the  whale;  it  is  very 
rarely  seen  so  far  north.  In  strength  and  velocity  in  the 
water,  it  equals,  if  it  does  not  exceed,  any  known  fish. 
Weather  being  so  fine  and  mild,  I  went  a-shooting,  and  shot 
a  number  of  roaches,  dufkies,  loons,  and  snow-birds.  Stuffed 
a  couple  of  each,  and  gave  the  rest  to  the  men  for  sea-pies. 

12th. — Some  Dutch  ships  in  company.  This  morning  a 
whale  rose  in  their  midst:  each  vessel  sent  two  or  three  boats 
to  wait  where  they  expected  it  to  rise.  I  anticipated  a 
diverting  scene  when  it  did  rise,  and  was  not  disappointed. 
All  was  hurry-skurry  and  confusion,  which  frightened  the 
fish  and  caused  it  to  flourish  its  tail  in  the  air  and  make  off. 
Lat.  by  obs.  79.57  N.  Went  on  board  one  of  the  Dutch  ships. 
The  captain,  a  young  man,  spoke  some  English.  He  had 
been  five  weeks  off  Jan  Mayen,  where  he  had  killed  three 
thousand  seals.  The  masters  of  two  of  the  other  vessels  were 
his  brothers.  On  taking  leave,  he  gave  Mr.  Ashe  and  me 
each  a  square  bottle  of  very  excellent  gin. 

13th. — Weather  calm.  Went  a-shooting,  and  killed  forty- 
one  birds — enough  for  all  hands  for  a  couple  of  days. 

14th. — Beautiful  weather;  the  Lord  Wellington  and  the  King 
George  in  company.  At  9  A.  M.  two  whales  rose;  each  ship 
sent  a  couple  of  boats;  one  of  the  fish  was  struck  by  a  har- 
pooneer  of  the  Lord  Wellington,  who  at  once  discovered  that 
he  had  only  got  fast  to  a  sucker.  It  was  very  soon  killed,  and 
found  to  be  little  larger  than  a  unicorn.  The  attention  of  all 
the  boats  was  then  directed  to  the  female,  as  they  all  knew, 
by  experience,  it  would  not  leave  its  young  one,  but  would 
hover  about  the  place.  For  nearly  four  hours  it  ran  about 
like  a  mad  creature,  closely  pursued  by  the  boats  of  the  three 
vessels.      At    one    o'clock    it    was    struck    by    a    harpooneer 


40  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

of  the  King  George,  who,  being  assisted  by  all  the  boats, 
soon  killed  it.  I  have  often  heard  of  the  maternal  affection 
of  the  whale,  and  here  saw  a  fine  instance  of  it.  About  11 
p.  M.  we  were  visited  by  a  very  fine  sea-horse;  made  several 
attempts  to  strike  it,  but  failed.  If  shot  and  wounded,  it 
would  make  off;  if  killed,  it  would  sink  like  a  stone.  As 
tbe  ice  was  closing  in,  the  Lord  Wellington  and  we  made  the 
best  of  our  way  out,  leaving  the  King  George  beset. 

15th. — Beautiful  clear  weather;  the  Lord  Wellington  in 
company.  Saw  two  whales;  each  ship  sent  two  boats  after 
them;  the  harpooneer  of  the  Lord  Wellington  struck  one;  and 
a3  the  two  boats  we  had  sent  were  off  in  pursuit  of  the  second 
whale,  Capt.  Dannatt  lowei*ed  two  others  and  sent  them  to 
assist  the  Lord  Wellington.  Their  whale,  when  struck,  went 
perpendicularly  downwards,  where  it  remained  upwards 
of  half  an  hour;  it  then  came  to  the  surface,  apparently  quite 
exhausted;  and  as  the  boats  were  scattered  about  where  it 
was  expected  to  rise,  it  was  immediately  harpooned  again, 
and  it  dived  a  second  time  before  recovering  its  breath;  but, 
being  obliged  to  rise  to  breathe,  two  more  harpoons  were 
driven  into  it;  and  as  it  was  from  breathlessness  obliged 
to  remain  to  breathe,  several  whale-lances,  some  twenty 
feet  long,  were  thrust  into  its  body.  It  made  several  in- 
effectual struggles  to  get  away,  but  was  too  far  spent;  and  as 
some  of  the  whale-lances  had  penetrated  the  lungs,  it  began 
to  eject  blood;  and  as  eight  boats  were  lying  alongside, 
plying  their  long  lances  into  its  body,  it  soon  expired  and 
turned  on  its  back.  At  that  moment  the  look-out  at  our  own 
mast-head  called  out:  "A  fall! — a  fall!"  Everything  was 
instantly  in  an  uproar;  those  who  were  in  bed  rushed 
on  deck  undrest,  and  tumbled  into  the  boats,  which  were 
instantly  lowered  into  the  water  and  pushed  off,  the  man 
in  the  crow's-nest  pointing  with  his  arm  in  the  direction 
they  were  to  go.  As  we  on  deck  could  see  nothing  for  the 
ice,  we  were  told  by  the  look-out  that  one  of  our  boats  was 
fast  to  a  whale,  about  three  miles  to  leeward.  In  a  few 
minutes  he  called  to  us  on  deck  to  say  that  the  second  boat 
had  also  struck  the  whale.  By  this  time,  the  two  boats 
which    had   been    assisting   the    Lord    Wellington   having   re- 


SURGEON  OF  A  WHALER  41 

turned,  the  ship  made  sail  with  all  the  spare  boats  in  tow, 
being  directed  by  the  man  at  the  mast-head.  When  near 
the  boats  which  had  struck  the  whale,  the  loose  boats  were 
cast  oil  and  dispersed  where  it  was  expected  to  rise.  It  did 
rise  quite  exhausted,  but  instantly  dived  again,  and  never 
came  up.  In  the  meantime  the  ice  was  coming  together, 
and  beset  the  boats;  attempts  were  made  to  drag  up  the 
whale,  but  without  success.  The  ends  of  the  lines  were 
then  taken  on  board  the  ship,  with  the  intention  of  either 
dragging  up  the  whale  or  drawing  out  the  harpoons.  The 
lines,  however,  broke,  and  the  whale  was  lost.  The  ship 
immediately  took  the  boats  on  board,  and  rejoined  the  Lord 
Wellington. 

16th. — Beautiful  weather,  and  quite  mild.  Ship  making 
her  way  to  the  N.  through  heavy  ice.  At  noon  we  were 
by  obs.  in  lat.  80.11  N.  The  two  discovery-ships  last  year 
only  reached  nine  miles  further,  being  then  stopped  by  the 
solid  continent  of  ice. 

17th. — Strong  breezes  of  wind.  A  ship,  called  the  Spencer, 
of  Hull,  in  company  with  us.  During  the  forenoon  a  whale 
rose;  each  vessel  sent  boats  after  it.  After  playing  about 
for  a  considerable  time,  it  was  at  last  struck  by  one  of  the 
Spencer's  harpooneers;  it  was  close  to  us  when  it  was  struck 
a  second  time,  and  shortly  afterwards  a  third  time.  Soon 
afterwards  a  serious  accident  had  like  to  have  happened: 
one  of  the  Spencer's  harpooneers,  approaching  it  for  the 
purpose  of  lancing  it,  received  a  blow  from  the  whale's  tail, 
which  knocked  the  boat  out  of  the  water;  it  struck  the 
boat  a  second  time,  so  that  it  went  to  pieces  and  sank, 
through  the  weight  of  the  lines,  leaving  the  men  struggling 
on  the  surface:  they  were,  however,  speedily  picked  up  by 
the  other  boats.  The  harpooneer  was  standing  up,  and  was 
knocked  out  by  the  first  stroke  of  the  animal's  tail.  As  we 
did  not  speak  the  Spencer,  cannot  say  whether  any  of  the 
men  were  seriously  injured.  In  two  hours  afterwards  the 
whale  was  killed. 

18th. — Beautiful  weather,  but  cold.  Saw  two  whales,  but 
could  not  succeed  in  striking  either  of  them;    we   perceived 


42  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

that  one  of  them  had  scara  on  its  back,  about  the  size  of 
harpoon-wounds. 

19th.  —  Strong  breezes  of  wind.  A  whale  being  seen  at  a 
distance,  boats  were  instantly  lowered:  the  crews  were  as 
usual  in  them,  when,  in  his  eagerness  to  get  away,  the  boat- 
steerer  of  one  of  them  took  the  fall  entirely  off  the  cleet. 
The  immediate  result  was  that,  not  being  able  to  support  the 
weight,  the  stern  of  the  boat  dropped  and  precipitated  the 
men  into  the  water.  One  had  presence  of  mind  to  catch 
hold  of  the  ship's  ladder;  the  other  four  were  struggling  in 
the  water  astern,  as  the  ship  was  going  at  the  rate  of  seven 
knots.  The  ship  was  instantly  laid-to  and  boats  sent  to  their 
rescue:  before  they  reached  them,  however,  two  had  sunk; 
one  came  again  to  the  surface,  and  was  laid  hold  of  by  a 
boat-hook;  the  other  was  seen  under  water  and  brought  up 
by  lowering  a  harpoon.  Both  were  inanimate,  and  it  was 
only  after  a  long-continued  use  of  the  ordinary  means  that 
vitality  was  restored.  I  am  afraid  to  say  how  long  one 
of  them  remained  without  evincing  any  3igns  of  life.  At 
any  rate,  the  whale  was  left  undisturbed. 

20th. — My  19th  birthday.  Strong  gales  of  wind,  but,  as 
we  were  among  heavy  ice,  did  not  feel  their  effects.  Saw 
two  or  three  whales,  and  sent  six  boats  after  them.  The 
whales  were  not  running,  but  feeding  and  playing  about. 
One  rose  near  one  of  the  boats,  and  the  harpooneer,  pulling 
the  boat  right  on  its  back,  struck  it;  it  ran  a  very  short 
distance  down,  when  it  came  up  again  and  lay  on  the  surface, 
splashing  and  flourishing  its  tail  and  fins  in  the  air  in  such  a 
dangerous  manner  as  to  prevent  any  of  the  boats  getting  near 
enough  to  strike  it  a  second  time.  After  a  while,  however, 
it  went  down,  and  rose  again  close  to  the  edge  of  a  heavy 
floe  of  ice,  where  it  acted  the  same  game  over  again;  it  lay 
evidently  watching  the  boats;  and  when  any  of  them  at- 
tempted to  approach  it,  it  turned  on  its  side,  shaking  its  fin 
in  the  air,  with  which  it  evidently  knew  that  it  could  destroy 
them.  Mr.  Ashe,  the  first  officer,  seeing  how  matters  stood,  and 
knowing  it  would  escape  if  not  very  speedily  secured,  got  on 
the  piece  of  ice  at  a  little  distance,  carrying  his  harpoon,  and, 


SURGEON  OF  A  WHALER  43 

with  two  of  his  men  dragging  the  line,  made  his  way  until 
he  got  just  over  the  whale,  when  he  threw  his  harpoon  with 
such  force  as  to  make  it  penetrate  the  whale's  body  to  the 
stock.  It  instantly  dived,  and  ran  five  lines  out  before  it 
again  came  to  the  surface;  and  when  it  did,  it  was  as  wicked 
and  mischievous  as  before.  One  boat  at  last  succeeded  in 
striking  it,  but,  when  backing  astern  again,  received  a  blow 
of  its  tail.  The  harpooneer,  seeing  the  impending  blow,  leaped 
back  among  the  men;  it  struck  the  boat's  bow  obliquely,  so  as 
not  to  injure  it;  but  the  concussion  threw  the  boat-steerer  into 
the  water.  As  the  whale  began  to  run,  the  line  was  at  once 
divided  by  the  axe,  and  the  boat  returned  to  pick  up  the 
steersman,  who  was  almost  frightened  to  death.  He  did  not 
know  how  he  had  got  into  the  water,  or  what  had  happened 
to  him:  being,  however,  utterly  useless,  the  crew  took  him 
on  board  the  ship,  which  was  close  by,  and,  taking  another 
in  his  place,  joined  the  hunt  again.  In  the  meanwhile,  the 
whale  was  again  setting  the  boats  at  defiance,  and  it  was 
only  after  some  time  that  two  of  them,  rowing  rapidly  past 
it,  threw  their  harpoons  into  it.  It  was,  then  killed,  but  not 
until  five  hours  had  elapsed  from  the  time  it  was  first  struck. 
When  dead,  it  turned  over  on  its  back;  holes  were  then  made 
through  its  fins,  which  were  lashed  across  the  belly.  Similar 
holes  were  made  in  the  forks  of  its  tail,  through  which  ropes 
were  reeved,  and  then,  all  the  boats  fastening  on,  the  whale 
was  towed  to  a  neighbouring  mass  of  ice,  to  which  the  ship 
was  already  anchored.  The  whale  being  then  brought  along- 
side, the  harpooneers,  with  spikes  on  the  soles  of  their  boots, 
got  upon  it,  and  cut  a  piece  about  four  feet  wide  by  six 
feet  long,  leaving  its  base  uncut.  A  hole  was  then  made, 
through  which  the  loop  of  a  strong  rope  was  passed,  and 
fastened  by  a  fidd.  The  rope  was  then  rove  through  a  block 
in  the  rigging,  and  its  end  taken  to  the  windlass.  This 
arrangement  or  contrivance  not  only  keeps  the  carcase  steady, 
but,  as  the  surface  is  removed,  enables  the  whale  to  be 
gradually  turned  and  another  surface  exposed  and  removed. 
When  this  was  done,  which  only  took  a  few  minutes,  the 
harpooneers  and  steerers  cut  out  pieces  of  about  a  ton 
weight,    which   were    hoisted   on    deck   by    ropes    and   pullies 


44  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

connected  with  the  winches.  As  fast  as  these  pieces  were 
hoisted  on  deck,  they  were  thrown  down  the  hatchway  be- 
tween the  decks.  The  lower  lip  of  the  carcase  was  cut  up 
and  hoisted  on  board;  the  enormous  tongue,  which  is  a  mass 
of  nearly  pure  fat,  was  sent  up;  the  whalebone  which  is 
attached  to  the  roof  of  the  mouth  was  then  removed;  the 
fins  and  tail  were  cut  off  and  hoisted  up;  and  the  whale 
gradually  turned  over,  until  it  was  entirely  flinched.  The 
whole  time  occupied  was  nearly  three  hours.  The  fat  on 
the  surface  of  the  body  was  about  ten  inches  thick,  which  is 
considered  to  be  very  little.  The  fat  on  the  body  of  a 
full-grown  female  is  frequently,  I  am  told,  two  feet  or  more 
in  thickness.  I  am  surprised  to  find  the  fat  firm,  and  more 
like  gristle  than  the  ordinary  fat  of  animals.  When  boiled 
down,  however,  Mr.  Ashe  informs  me  that  it  yields  75  per 
cent,  of  pure  oil.  While  the  whale  was  being  cut  up  we 
were  surrounded  by  immense  numbers  of  mollymawks  and 
snow-birds,  which  could  easily  be  knocked  down  with  a 
stick.  The  sailors  amused  me  by  throwing  some  pieces  of 
blubber  among  them,  too  large  for  any  single  bird  to  swallow; 
when  one  got  hold  of  it,  he  was  instantly  attacked  by  the 
others,  and  almost  torn  to  pieces,  until  he  quitted  it.  This 
went  on  until  some  bird  more  powerful  or  more  dexterous 
managed  to  get  off  with  it. 

After  the  whale  was  flinched,  the  decks  were  cleared  and 
cleaned;  the  ship  was  cast  off  from  the  ice,  and  stood  away 
to  the  N.E.  One  of  the  men,  who  yesterday  was  nearly 
drowned,  suffers  to-day  from  acute  inflammation  of  the  lungs. 

21st. — Light  airs,  and  beautiful  mild  weather.  In  the 
afternoon  two  whales  rose  close  to  the  ship,  and  remained 
sporting  on  the  surface  in  a  very  loving  manner.  The  boats 
were  instantly  lowered  and  pulled  towards  them;  one  of  the 
boats  ran  against  the  whale,  and  the  harpoonoer,  who  had 
just  seized  his  harpoon,  was  thrown  down;  he,  however, 
recovered  himself  in  an  instant,  and  plunged  his  harpoon 
into  its  back.  As  the  whale,  however,  was  in  no  hurry  to 
go  away,  the  man  again  seized  his  harpoon,  and,  throwing 
his  whole  weight  on  it,  gave  it  a  good  shove.  It  then  set 
off    nearly    perpendicularly    downwards,    and   with    such    vel- 


SURGEON  OF  A  WHALER  45 

ocity  that  the  harpooneer  was  hidden  in  the  smoke  caused 
by  the  rapidity  of  the  lines  running  round  the  bolland,  and 
this  in  spite  of  the  water  thrown  upon  it.  A  second  boat  was 
just  in  time  to  render  aid  before  the  lines  were  run  out.  The 
whale  came  up  again  in  about  an  hour,  nearly  dead — not 
from  fatigue  or  exertion,  but  from  the  enormous,  almost 
incredible,  weight  of  water  it  had  sustained.  It  ran  out 
seven  lines,  each  line  140  fathoms  long,  and  went  apparently 
perpendicularly  down;  if  so,  it  must  have  been  subjected 
to  a  pressure  of  980  fathoms  of  water.  But,  even  if  one  or 
even  two  hundred  fathoms  are  allowed  for  obliquity,  still  the 
pressure  must  have  been  almost  incalculable.  It  lay  almost 
motionless,  until  three  boats  pulled  on  its  back  and  struck 
their  harpoons  into  it:  it  ran  another  length  of  line  out  of 
their  boats,  and  then  stopped.  It  was  instantly  surrounded 
by  all  the  boats,  and  in  the  space  of  forty  minutes  more  was 
killed.  The  ship  was  again  anchored  to  a  piece  of  ice,  as 
yesterday,  and  the  whale  brought  alongside  and  cut  up.  It 
also  was  a  male  animal,  and  very  lean. 

24th. — Quite  calm,  but  a  dense  fog.  We  hear  whales 
blowing  on  every  side,  but  cannot  see  them.  Six  boats, 
however,  were  sent  off  with  strict  orders  not  to  separate. 
They  returned  unsuccessful:  they  heard  and  saw  several, 
but  could  not  get  near  enough  to  strike  one.  At  noon 
it  cleared  up,  and  discovered  us  in  a  large  basin  formed  by 
heavy  ice,  with  numbers  of  whales  sporting  about  in  a  very 
playful  manner;  but,  being  quite  calm,  they  invariably  made 
off  whenever  they  heard  or  saw  the  boats.  In  the  afternoon 
Capt.  Dannatt  got  into  a  boat,  and,  posting  himself  on  the 
edge  of  a  piece  of  ice,  resolved  to  wait  in  hopes  that  one 
would  rise  near  him.  He  was  not  waiting  more  than  twenty 
minutes  till  one  rose  about  forty  yards  off.  He  pulled  to- 
wards it;  but,  finding  the  boat  going  athwart  it,  he  directed 
the  men  to  cease  pulling,  and  ordered  the  boat-steerer  to  scull 
quietly.  It  lay  shaking  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  as  if 
paralyzed  by  a  sense  of  its  danger,  until  Capt.  Dannatt 
struck  his  harpoon  into  it;  it  then  made  off,  running  only 
two  lines  out,  when  another  harpoon  was  struck  into  it,  and 
in  an  hour  after  it  was  first  struck  it  was  killed.     It  was 


46  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

a  male  fish,  but  very  fat.  During  the  act  of  flinching,  a 
harpooneer  cut  his  foot  severely. 

26th. — Strong  wind  and  clear.  Ship  threading  her  way 
to  the  northward.  At  5  P.  M.,  after  an  exciting  chase,  a 
whale  was  harpooned;  it  ran  out  five  lines,  and  was  killed 
in  two  hours  and  a-half. 

27th. — At  7  P.  M.  we  got  to  the  open  water  in  lat.  N. 
79.30,  where  we  again  joined  the  Lord  Wellington.  In  es- 
caping from  the  ice  we  left  two  vessels  beset,  who  were  more 
to  leeward  than  we  were. 

28th. — A  whale  was  seen,  and  three  boats  were  sent  after 
it,  one  succeeding  in  harpooning  it;  it  ran  six  lines  out,  and 
the  greater  part  of  a  second  boat's  lines.  It  remained  nearly 
an  hour  before  it  came  to  the  surface  again,  and  then  rose  at 
a  considerable  distance,  and  not  far  from  the  Lord  Wellington. 
Oapt.  Dannatt  sent  two  boats  to  his  brother's  assistance; 
both  struck  it  before  it  went  down  again,  and  in  25  minutes 
more  it  was  killed.  As  usual,  the  ship  was  anchored  to  the 
ice. 

Shortly  after  it  was  got  on  board  and  the  decks  cleared, 
three  or  four  whales  were  seen,  and  boats  sent  after  them. 
The  harpooner  who  had  struck  the  last  whale  got  close  to 
one  of  them,  but,  through  the  fault  of  the  boat-steerer,  not 
close  enough  to  strike.  He  threw  his  harpoon,  which  did  not 
penetrate.  He,  however,  was  fortunate  enough  to  strike 
another,  which  remained  down  a  considerable  time.  As  soon 
as  it  rose,  three  more  harpoons  were  driven  into  it;  but,  in- 
stead of  going  down  again,  as  was  expected,  it  set  off  with 
great  rapidity  towards  the  heavy  pack  of  ice  to  windward. 
As  the  men  knew  that  if  it  once  gained  the  shelter  of  the 
close  ice  they  would  likely  lose  it,  the  loose  boats  attached 
themselves  to  those  fast  to  the  whale,  and  all  stuck  their  oars 
in  the  water,  to  retard  its  flight;  but  in  vain;  it  reached  the 
ice,  and  the  men  were  obliged  to  pay  away  their  lines  until  it 
stopped,  which  it  did  in  a  few  minutes.  The  men,  seeing  it 
blowing,  proceeded  over  the  ice  with  three  harpoons;  two 
were  stuck  into  it  and  the  lances  freely  used,  when  it  made 
oil  again,  fortunately  into  clear  water,  where  it  was  shortly 
killed.     The    ship,   as   usual,   was   anchored   to  the   ice;    the 


SURGEON  OF  A  WHALER  47 

whale  was  brought  alongside,  and  was  flinched.  It  was  a 
male  fish,  and  miserably  lean. 

29th. — Beautiful  weather.  Very  nearly  run  foul  of  by  a 
Dutch  ship,  which  came  so  close  that  I  could  have  jumped 
on  board.  It  had  got  two  small  whales,  and  had  their  tails 
hung  up  in  the  rigging.  No  correspondence  in  language 
between  us. 

30th. — Quite  calm,  but  thick  foggy  weather.  Two  ships 
with  us,  the  Dutchman  and  a  ship  from  Aberdeen.  Great 
numbers  of  unicorns  and  seals  around  us,  but  could  not  take 
any  of  them. 

31st. — Last  night  it  began  to  blow  from  N.E.,  which  drove 
the  ice  in  large  masses  down  upon  us.  As  we  saw  no  prospect 
of  getting  out,  we  looked  out  for  and  found  a  creek  in  one 
of  the  largest  masses,  into  which  the  ship  was  taken.  The 
sails  were  then  stowed  and  the  provisions  got  on  deck,  in 
the  case  of  the  ship  being  crushed  to  pieces.  The  ice  con- 
tinues to  come  down,  so  that  no  water  can  be  seen,  even 
from  the  mast-head.  Prospect  of  getting  out  only  by  a  change 
of  wind  or  by  being  drifted  to  the  southward.  Nothing  to 
relieve  "the  eye"  but  the  bare  masts  of  the  Dutch  and  Aber- 
deen ships. 

June  1st. — Wind  N.E.  Nothing  can  be  more  disheartening 
than  our  imprisonment. 

2nd. — Early  this  morning  the  wind  changed  to  the  west. 
During  the  day  the  ice  slackened  considerably,  and  as  it 
peeled  off  to  the  southward  we  occasionally  caught  sight 
of  water.  The  Dutchman,  being  nearer  the  edge,  soon  got 
clear  and  out  of  sight.  Some  hours  afterwards  the  ice  near 
us  began  to  move;  a  lane  opened  here  and  another  there, 
and  we  set  our  sails  ready  to  take  advantage  of  any  channel. 
We  at  last  cast  off,  and  threaded  our  way  out  between  heavy 
floes,  leaving  the  Aberdeen  ship  to  follow,  which  was  then 
a  mile  or  two  astern.  Our  way,  when  near  open  water,  lay 
between  two  heavy  floes.  We  got  safely  through,  although 
we  found  the  channel  getting  perceptibly  narrower.  Being 
then  nearly  if  not  quite  safe,  I  went  below  with  Capt. 
Dannatt;  and  while  conversing,  Mr.  Ashe  came  down  to 
inform   us   that   the   Diamond,   in   passing  between   the   two 


48  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

pieces,  had  been  caught  by  them  and  crushed  to  pieces. 
We  ran  on  deck  and  found  it  too  true.  One  of  her  masts  was 
still  upright;  the  others,  with  fragments  of  the  vessel,  were 
being  piled  up  among  the  masses  of  ice  which  were  broken 
off  by  the  collision  of  the  two  floes.  We  approached  as 
near  as  we  could  with  regard  to  our  own  safety,  although  we 
dared  not  send  them  any  help.  We  perceived  that  they  had 
three  boats  on  the  ice,  and  were  putting  sails,  chests,  meat, 
&c,  into  them.  Some  of  them  at  last  launched  one  of  their 
boats  over  the  ice,  and  came  on  board  of  us.  The  party 
consisted  of  the  captain,  the  surgeon,  the  mates,  and  several 
of  the  men.  A  signal  was  made  to  the  others  to  come  off, 
and  one  boat  came,  loaded  to  the  water's  edge  with  men  and 
some  of  their  effects.  As  about  twenty  still  remained  on  the 
ice,  boats  were  sent  to  bring  some  of  them  off,  and  to  say 
that  if  they  did  not  instantly  come  on  board  they  would  be 
left  to  their  fate.  They  did  then  come  on  board,  but  most 
of  them  quite  drunk  and  shockingly  profane  in  their  language. 
As  the  ice  continued  in  motion,  and  was  still  very  unsafe, 
we  got  out  of  it  as  quickly  as  we  could,  leaving  the  remains 
of  the  Diamond  and  her  eight  whales.  Capt.  Small,  in  giv- 
ing an  account  of  the  loss  of  his  ship,  said  that  in  following 
our  vessel  he  perceived  that  the  channel  between  the  floes 
was  getting  smaller,  and  lowered  six  boats  to  assist  by 
towing.  When,  however,  escape  was  seen  to  be  impossible, 
the  men  in  the  boats,  as  well  as  those  on  board,  escaped  the 
collision  by  getting  on  the  ice  and  out  of  the  way.  The  men 
who  were  towing  succeeded  in  dragging  three  of  the  boats 
on  to  the  ice.  Those  on  board  got  into  the  spirit-room  before 
leaving.  Some,  and  only  a  few,  succeeded  in  saving  a  few 
of  their  effects. 

Some  Dutch  ship  being  seen  to  leeward,  the  men  who  had 
last  come  on  board  requested  to  be  sent  to  them.  This  request 
was  readily  granted,  and  two  of  their  boats  were  given  to 
them  for  the  purpose;  and  after  the  uproar  and  the  disputes 
about  the  division  of  the  things  saved  were  settled,  they  went 
off,  and  the  others  to  bed  again.  About  three  o'clock  we 
got  into  a  flock  of  whales.  Six  boats*  were  instantly  lowered, 
with    strict   orders   not   to   separate.     Two  whales   were   im- 


SURGEON  OF  A  WHALER  49 

mediately  harpooned.  In  an  hour  and  a-half  one  was  killed 
and  taken  in  tow  by  the  ship;  and  soon  afterwards  the 
second  was  killed,  and  also  taken  in  tow.  The  boats  then 
struck  two  others,  which  were  killed  without  any  unusual 
occurrence.  The  ship  was  then,  as  usual,  anchored  to  the 
ice,  and  the  whales  were  flinched. 

As  the  difference  between  day  and  night  can  only  be  dis- 
tinguished by  reference  to  the  compass,  and  as  the  occur- 
rences and  events  of  the  last  two  or  three  days  have  been 
so  varied  and  so  exciting,  they  are  apt  to  get  confused.  I 
am,  however,  very  decidedly  entering  the  late  occurrences 
on  this  morning  of  the  3rd. 

3rd. — On  this  day  we  spoke  the  Middleton,  of  Aberdeen. 
Her  captain  came  on  board,  and  after  a  consultation  it  was 
decided  that  Capt.  Small  and  a  certain  number  of  his  men 
should  go  on  board  the  Middleton.  This  was  accordingly 
done,  and  Capt.  Small  left  us  with  the  sympathy  of  all  on 
board.  In  the  evening,  quite  calm.  The  weather  being  thick 
and  foggy,  the  ship  was  made  fast  to  a  piece  of  ice. 

4th. — Weather  still  calm  and  foggy.  Caught  a  shark  ten 
feet  long,  and  hoisted  it  on  deck  for  the  purpose  of  exam- 
ining its  structure. 

5th. — Still  perfectly  calm.  The  Middleton  and  the  Dutch 
ship,  with  the  Diamond's  men,  are  in  company.  They  had 
struck  a  whale  for  the  Dutchmen,  who  are  very  anxious 
to  keep  them. 

7th. — Got  a  channel  out,  and  made  way  to  the  northward 
at  noon.  We  were  by  obs.  in  lat.  80.12  N.,  and  still  making 
to  the  north. 

8th. — At  two  o'clock  this  morning  the  Trafalgar  arrived 
at  the  solid  ice,  which  connects  with  the  North  Pole.  After 
sailing  some  hours  along  its  edge,  in  an  easterly  course, 
we  bore  away  to  the  southward.  At  noon  we  were  by  obs. 
in  lat.  80.44  N.,  and  by  Mr.  Ashe's  observation  in  81.01  north. 
In  the  morning,  before  the  ship  bore  away  to  the  southward, 
it  must  have  been  ten  or  twelve  miles  farther  to  the  north. 
At  7  P.  M.  we  made  the  land,  and  continued  to  approach  it. 

9th. — At  7  o'clock  this  morning  we  were  close  in  with 
Moffen    Island,    on   the    northern    extremity    of    Spitzbergen, 


50  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

laying  in  80.07  N.,  and  coasted  along  during  the  day,  with 
a  light  breeze  of  wind  from  the  N.N.E. 

At  six  o'clock  p.  M.  we  altered  our  course  to  the  westward 
again,  and  at  midnight  got  among  light  streams  of  loose 
and  small  ice,  with  here  and  there  a  heavy  floe. 

10th. — Strong  breezes  and  clear  weather.  Boring  our  way 
to  the  westward  with  considerable  difficulty,  being  often 
obliged  to  make  a  circuit  to  get  round  the  floes  or  keep 
clear  of  them,  so  as  to  reach  open  water,  the  appearance 
of  which  we  could  see  in  the  distance.  About  two  o'clock 
we  reached  open  water,  which  was  formed  by  two  very  large 
and  several  smaller  floes.  The  enclosed  clear  water  was 
about  a  mile  and  a-half  by  a  mile  broad,  and  was  literally 
swarming  with  whales,  looking  like  droves  of  black  cattle 
in  a  pasture.  All  the  boats  were  lowered,  with  strict  in- 
junctions to  keep  together  and  not  to  strike  more  than  three 
fish  at  one  time.  There  was,  of  course,  a  contest,  and  a  very 
sharp  one — not  who  should  strike  the  fish,  but  who  should 
do  so  first;  for,  besides  the  honor  and  credit,  the  har- 
pooner  and  steersman  of  a  boat  first  striking  a  whale  re- 
ceive each  a  guinea,  and  the  rowers  seven-and-sixpence  each, 
independently  of  their  share  in  the  general  profits  of 
the  voyage.  Of  course,  the  four  loose  boats  are  kept  clear 
and  ready  to  assist.  Two  of  the  boats  pulled  into  a  creek, 
and  immediately  each  struck  a  whale.  Another  boat  met 
a  whale,  and,  although  at  disadvantage,  succeeded  in  getting 
fast  to  it.  By  this  time,  two  ships,  the  Harmony,  of  Hull, 
and  the  Union,  of  Peterhead,  seeing  our  flags  flying,  ar- 
rived as  we  were  killing  our  three  whales.  The  boats  of 
the  Hull  ship  struck  three  fish;  but  for  want  of  proper  and 
timely  assistance,  one  of  them,  with  the  six  lines,  escaped. 
The  Union's  boats  struck  two;  but  for  the  want  of  the  aid 
of  the  other  boats,  one  of  them  also  got  off,  with  their  har- 
poon and  lines  attached  to  it.  By  this  time  the  three  whales 
we  had  struck  were  killed,  and  the  men  in  the  boats  were 
busy  getting  in  and  coiling  their  lines,  excepting  Mr.  Ashe, 
whose  line  had  got  foul  of  the  bottom  of  the  ice.  As  he  was 
positive  that  it  was  a  whale  he  was  fast  to,  he  did  not  strike 
his  jack.     While  disputing  about  it,  a  whale  rose  not  far  off, 


SURGEON  OF  A  WHALER  51 

and  was  espied  by  two  of  the  boats  belonging  to  one  of  the 
other  ships,  who,  however,  would  not  strike  it,  as  they  saw  a 
harpoon  sticking  in  its  back,  and  Mr.  Ashe's  jack  flying  not 
far  off.  Capt.  Dannatt,  who  witnessed  the  circumstance,  im- 
mediately called  one  of  our  boats;  but  as  their  lines  were 
not  quite  coiled  in,  it  did  not  come  for  a  few  minutes,  and 
by  that  time  the  whale  had  gone.  Capt  Dannatt,  however, 
who  was  in  the  crow's-nest,  observed  its  course,  and  directed 
the  boat  to  lie  at  a  point  which  he  pointed  out.  The  boat 
had  only  lain  there  a  few  minutes  when  the  whale  rose  at 
a  short  distance  and  was  instantly  struck,  and,  with  the 
assistance  of  some  of  the  other  boats,  which  by  that  time  had 
got  in  their  lines,  was  soon  killed.  When  brought  alongside 
it  was  found  to  be  the  whale  which  had  escaped  from  the 
Union,  as  one  of  that  ship's  harpoons,  with  six  lines,  was 
attached  to  it.  By  the  time  this  last  whale  was  killed, 
hardly  a  fish  was  to  be  seen:  all  had  taken  fright  and  dis* 
appeared. 

11th. — At  two  o'clock  this  morning  the  ship  was  anchored 
to  the  ice  as  usual,  and  the  four  whales  were  brought 
alongside  and  flinched. 

During  the  time  the  crew  were  employed  in  cutting  up  the 
whales  we  were  visited  by  several  sharks,  and  I  again 
availed  myself  of  the  opportunity  of  dissecting  one  of  them. 
They  are  most  torpid  and  senseless  animals;  for,  though  a 
knife  or  a  lance  is  run  into  them,  they  retreat  a  few  yards, 
but  directly  return  again.  After  the  whales  were  flinched 
and  the  decks  cleared  and  cleaned,  the  ship  was  cast  off,  and 
proceeded  to  look  out  for  the  passage  again,  but  found  it 
effectually  blocked  up. 

12th. — Very  thick  and  foggy;  no  egress,  and  the  space  in 
which  we  are  confined  is  evidently  less.  At  noon,  saw  a 
small  whale  and  sent  boats  after  it.  One  boat  got  near  it, 
but  not  near  enough  to  strike,  and  the  harpooneer  hove  his 
harpoon  at  it,  but  did  not  get  fast.  Soon  afterwards  it  rose 
again  near  one  of  the  boats,  and  the  harpooneer  struck  at  it 
with  such  force  as  to  bend  his  harpoon  almost  double;  but, 
to  his  surprise,  the  man  found  the  weapon  remaining  in  his 
hand.     He  had  struck  it  on  the  crown-bone.     Soon  afterwards 


52  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

it  waa  struck  and  killed  by  the  boats  of  the  Harmony.  Ship 
still  anchored  to  the  ice. 

13th. — Weather  still  thick  and  foggy — so  much  so,  that 
objects  cannot  be  perceived  beyond  the  length  of  the  ship. 
As  the  space  of  water  in  which  tbe  ship  is  confined  gets  less, 
we  are  obliged  to  cast  off  and  choose  another  berth.  During 
the  evening  the  weather  cleared  up  a  little,  and  we  found 
ourselves  surrounded  by  unicorns,  but  could  not  succeed  in 
striking  one  of  them.  The  Harmony,  however,  got  one  by 
shooting  it  with  a  gun-harpoon. 

14th. — Weather  still  thick  and  foggy;  no  egress,  but  the 
basin  in  which  we  are  confined  apparently  gets  larger.  To- 
day, got  again  two  sharks;  neither  of  them  had  eyes.  The 
sockets  remain,  but  the  eye-balls  appear  to  have  been  taken 
out,  as  the  remains  of  the  muscles  are  still  to  be  seen.  The 
cavity  of  the  brain  is  very  small,  hardly  larger  in  circum- 
ference than  the  spinal-marrow.  They  are,  consequently,  very 
tenacious  of  life.  The  head  of  one  was  cut  off,  and  retained 
its  sensibility  for  a  long  time.  A  fishing-lead  was  put  into 
its  mouth  five  hours  after,  and  it  bit  it  through  with  ease. 

15th. — Still  thick  and  foggy.  The  ice  has  opened;  but, 
on  account  of  the  fog,  it  was  thought  unsafe  to  cast  off, — so 
we  remain  anchored  to  the  ice. 

17th. — Quite  clear,  and  fine  mild  weather.  Perceived 
some  vessels  coming  towards  us,  and  made  off  to  the  N.W. 
with  the  intention  of  leaving  them  and  keeping  by  ourselves. 
Only  one  followed  us.  After  sailing  eight  hours,  we  came 
to  two  heavy  floes  with  a  clear  passage  between  them;  we 
ran  down,  leaving  the  other  ship,  which  would  not  follow  us. 
After  sailing  along  the  edge  of  one  of  the  floe3  for  three  or 
four  miles,  Capt.  Dannatt  perceived  a  whale  blowing  in  a 
hole  in  the  floe.  Two  boats  were  sent  to  the  edge  of  the  ice, 
and  one  of  the  harpooneers  was  directed  to  proceed  over  the 
ice  to  the  hole,  and  to  wait  there  until  the  fish  appeared  again. 
He  went  with  two  of  the  men  dragging  the  line,  and  found 
the  whale  still  lying  there.  He  at  once  plunged  his  harpoon 
into  it,  with  such  force  as  to  overbalance  himself  and 
fall  into  the  water.  He  was  with  difficulty  extricated  by  the 
two  men  who  had  accompanied  him.     The  whale  made  into 


SURGEON  OF  A  WHALER  53 

the  open  water,  and  was  killed  in  an  hour  and  a-half.  While 
the  boats  were  towing  it  on  board,  another  whale  rose  close 
to  them;  it  was  instantly  pursued  and  struck,  and  in  thirty- 
five  minutes  was  killed.  It  was  only  a  small  one.  When 
the  whales  were  brought  alongside,  it  was  perceived  that  the 
floes  of  ice  were  coming  together,  under  the  influence  of  a 
current.  The  whales  were  immediately  cast-off  from  the  ship, 
and  six  boats  left  to  tow  them;  while  all  sails  were  set  to 
beat  out  again.  In  two  hours  we  had  weathered  a  point, 
where  we  considered  ourselves  safe,  and  then  lay-to  for  the 
boats.  As  it  was,  we  had  little  time  to  spare;  for  if  we 
had  not  seen  the  ice  in  motion  when  we  did,  or  if  we  had  been 
a  mile  more  to  leeward,  we  would  have  shared  the  fate  of 
the  Diamond.  We  watched  the  two  enormous  pieces  come 
in  contact  with  a  horrible  crushing  noise,  and  saw  the  frag- 
ments piled  up  to  a  great  height.    X  mem.  ex. 

18th. — At  two  A.  M.  the  boats  with  the  two  whales  joined 
the  ship,  and  the  usual  process  was  gone  through. 

At  ten  a.  M.  spoke  the  ship  we  had  seen  the  day  before, 
the  Mary  and  Elizabeth;  and  as  it  became  foggy,  the  master 
came  on  board  and  spent  the  day.  In  the  evening  the 
weather  cleared  up,  and,  as  the  ice  appeared  to  be  closing, 
we  tried  to  get  into  an  adjoining  body  of  water,  but  were 
prevented  by  a  piece  of  ice  twice  as  big  as  our  ship,  which 
blocked  up  the  only  channel.  Twelve  boats  were  sent — six 
from  each  vessel — to  attempt  to  tow  it  out  of  the  way.  In 
half  an  hour  they  succeeded  in  making  a  passage  sufficient 
to  allow  us  to  pass  through,  which  we  did  without  damage. 
The  Mary  and  Elizabeth,  however,  struck  one  of  the  sides 
of  the  passage,  and,  recoiling,  got  jammed  fast;  and  it  was 
only  after  considerable  exertions  that  she  was  towed  clear. 
Soon  afterwards  we  saw  a  whale,  and  pursued  it;  but  the 
weather  becoming  foggy  again,  the  boats  were  recalled. 

19th. — Uncommonly  thick  and  foggy,  with  very  little  wind. 
Early  this  morning  the  watch  on  deck  heard  repeated  calls 
of  "A  fall!  a  fall!"  and  could  distinctly  hear  the  whale-lines 
running  out  of  a  boat,  but  could  see  nothing.  As  all  of  our 
ship's  boats  were  on  board,  we  paid  no  attention  to  the  calls. 
When  another  watch  came  on  deck,  half  an  hour  afterwards, 


54  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

the  harpooneer  in  charge  heard  a  whale  blowing  near  the  ship, 
and  sent  two  boats  after  it,  but  too  late.  In  a  short  time  a 
boat  belonging  to  the  Mary  and  Elizabeth  came  on  board, 
and  told  us  that  they  had  left  their  ship  in  pursuit  of  some 
unicorns,  but,  coming  across  the  whale,  had  harpooned  it, 
and  lost  it  for  want  of  assistance.  As  they  could  not  find 
their  vessel  in  the  dense  fog,  they  remained  on  board  with 
us  until  it  should  clear  up,  which  it  did  in  a  few  hours  after. 
During  the  day  we  heard  the  blast  of  whales,  but  could  not 
see  them  for  the  fog. 

20th. — This  morning  a  polar  bear  appeared  near  us,  on 
the  edge  of  the  ice.  He  was  supposed  not  to  be  hungry, 
as  he  did  not  attack  us  or  get  into  the  water,  and  none  were 
hardy  enough  to  attack  him  on  the  ice.  After  looking  at 
each  other  for  some  time  a  fog  supervened,  and  we  saw  him 
no  more.  In  the  evening  it  cleared  up,  and  we  found  our- 
selves surrounded  by  unicorns.  Boats  were  lowered:  one  of 
the  boats,  perceiving  three  approaching,  lay  perfectly  still 
on  the  water,  the  harpooneer  ordering  the  men  to  lift  their 
oars  out  of  the  water  and  to  be  perfectly  silent.  There 
were  a  male  with  a  long  horn,  a  female,  and  a  young  one. 
On  nearing  the  boat  the  male  perceived  it,  and  made  off. 
The  female  was  following,  when  the  harpooneer  threw  his 
harpoon,  and  fortunately  with  success.  It  ran  two  lines  out, 
and  on  coming  up  was  killed  by  the  other  boat.  It  was 
brought  alongside  and  hoisted  into  the  ship  entire.  The 
mouth,  throat,  and  stomach  were  full  of  different  kinds  of 
small  animals  and  fishes — the  greater  number  like  overgrown 
shrimps;  some  of  them  measured  four  or  five  inches  in 
length.  The  unicorn  itself  was  sixteen  feet  long,  and  yielded 
one  butt  of  oil.  At  nine  P.  M.  made  sail  to  the  northward, 
the  current  having  carried  us  considerably  to  the  S.W. 
Parted  with  the  Mary  and  Elizabeth,  who  preferred  remaining 
behind. 

Early  this  morning,  being  at  the  masthead  with  one  of  the 
Bpeksoneers,  he  directed  my  attention  to  two  objects  on  the 
ice,  at  some  distance.  As  they  advanced  rapidly  towards  us, 
we  soon  perceived  them  to  be  two  polar  bears — an  old  one 
and  its  cub.     We  called  out  to  those  on  deck,  and  two  boats 


SURGEON  OF  A  WHALER  55 

were  manned  and  lowered,  with.  Capt.  D.  in  one  of  them. 
As  soon  as  the  bears  perceived  the  boats  they  got  into  the 
water,  and  swam  towards  them  with  astonishing  rapidity. 
When  near  the  boats  Capt.  D.  fired  at  the  old  one,  but  with 
no  apparent  effect.  He  fired  again,  when  the  bears  turned 
and  made  towards  the  ice;  they  scrambled  up  and  stood  on 
its  edge,  shewing  no  inclination  to  renew  the  attack;  the 
boats  got  closer  to  them,  when  Capt.  D.  fired  again,  and  shot 
the  dam  through  the  head.  The  young  one  would  not  quit 
the  body,  but  remained  until  a  noose  of  a  rope  was  thrown 
over  it,  and  it  was  dragged  into  the  water,  as  Capt.  D.  wished 
to  keep  it  alive.  It  was  five  feet  long,  and  stood  higher  than 
a  large  sheep;  when  brought  alongside,  it  shewed  such 
ferocity  that  it  was  decided  to  kill  it.  I  found  their  stomachs 
perfectly  empty.  The  white  bear  is  very  ferocious,  and,  I  am 
told,  very  rarely  turns  tail,  as  this  one  did,  when  wounded. 
Innumerable  stories  are  told  of  their  attacking  the  boats. 
Last  season,  Captain  Hawkins,  of  the  Everthorp,  of  Hull, 
attacked  a  bear  in  the  water;  his  gun  would  not  go  off,  and 
he  attempted  to  run  his  whale-lance  through  it  as  it  ad- 
vanced; the  lance,  however,  struck  on  its  breast-bone,  and  the 
bear,  wrenching  it  out  of  his  hand,  got  into  the  boat,  and 
seizing  him  by  the  thigh,  made  off  to  the  nearest  ice.  The 
men  were  paralyzed  for  a  minute  or  two,  when  they  followed 
the  bear,  throwing  the  loose  articles  in  the  boat  at  it;  one 
of  them  hitting  it  on  the  head,  it  left  hold  of  the  captain  and 
followed  the  boat,  which,  taking  a  turn,  picked  up  the  captain 
and  took  him  on  board. 

Some  years  ago  a  bear  was  attacked  by  a  boat,  and  in 
trying  to  get  into  the  bow  the  harpooneer  cut  off  one  of  its 
paws  with  his  axe;  it  then  got  into  the  stern  of  the  boat, 
when  the  boat-steerer  jumped  overboard;  it  then  cleared  the 
boat,  of  which  it  held  possession  until  it  was  shot,  the  men, 
in  the  meanwhile,  hanging  on  in  the  water  by  the  oars. 

During  the  day  we  saw  several  whales  running  to  the 
N.W.,  but  could  not  get  near  enough  to  any  of  them  to 
strike. 

23rd. — Early  this  morning,  while  coasting  along  the  edge 
of  a  floe,  saw  several  whales  running  in  the  same  direction 


56  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

to  N.W.  as  yesterday,  and  sent  six  boats  after  them.  For 
upwards  of  six  hours  they  were  unsuccessful.  At  last  a  boat 
laying  at  the  floe's  edge  perceived  two  whales  coming  towards 
them,  and  as  they  passed,  the  harpooneer  threw  his  harpoon 
at  one  of  them,  and  got  fast.  It  was  killed  without  any 
particular  occurrence.  The  ship,  as  usual,  was  made  fast 
to  the  edge  of  the  floe.  The  whale  was  then  brought  alongside 
and  flinched. 

When  finished,  stood  to  the  westward,  as  that  was  the 
course  taken  by  the  whales. 

24th. — Still    sailing   to   the   westward.     No  whales   seen. 

25th. — Stood  to  the  westward  until  we  were  stopped  by 
the  ice.  We  saw  no  whales,  but  passed  several  bears.  Got 
through  an  opening  in  the  ice,  and  bore  away  to  the  north- 
ward. 

26th. — Quite  calm,  and  warm  weather.  We  saw  two  bears 
on  the  ice,  and  sent  a  couple  of  boats  after  them.  We  lost 
sight  of  one  of  them  entirely;  the  other  kept  ranging  about 
without  perceiving  or  noticing  the  boats.  After  we  had  left 
the  ship,  six  of  the  men,  more  foolhardy  than  the  others, 
insisted  on  attacking  it  on  the  ice.  They  armed  themselves 
with  harpoons  and  whale-lances,  and  set  off,  leaving  one  man 
in  their  boat.  They  had  proceeded  150  or  200  yards  with 
great  difficulty,  on  account  of  the  depth  and  softness  of  the 
snow,  as  well  as  of  the  great  inequalities  of  the  ice,  when  the 
bear  either  saw  or  smelt  them.  At  any  rate  it  stopped  and 
turned  round,  and  looked  full  at  them.  Whether  it  was  that 
they  did  not  like  its  looks,  or  that  their  courage  failed  them, 
but  with  one  consent  they  turned  tail,  and  made  for  the 
boat,  tumbling  down  every  few  steps;  and  although  the  bear 
paid  no  attention  to  them,  but  was  making  towards  the  other 
boat,  they  did  not  stop  to  see  whether  its  head  or  tail  was 
towards  them  until  they  were  safely  on  board  of  their  boat. 
In  the  meanwhile  the  bear  was  making  his  way  to  the  boat 
in  which  the  captain  and  I  were  waiting  for  him.  When  he 
got  to  tbe  edge  of  the  ice  he  took  to  the  water,  and  swam 
rapidly  towards  us.  When  at  a  short  distance,  Capt.  D. 
fired  at  it,  and  the  ball  went  through  its  body.  It  at  once 
turned  about  and  got  on  the  ice,  where  it  rolled  over  and 


SUKGEON  OF  A  WHALER  57 

over,  and  clapped  snow  on  the  wounds  in  its  sides,  growling 
all  the  while.  At  last  it  again  got  into  the  water  and  made 
towards  us.  I  fired  at  it,  but  the  gun  would  not  go  off,  hav- 
ing got  wetted  with  the  splashing  of  the  oars.  Capt.  Dannatt 
then  ordered  the  boat  to  be  rowed  very  rapidly  past  it,  and 
at  the  moment  of  passing  he  thrust  the  whale-lance  through 
its  body;  it  still  swam  after  us  with  astonishing  rapidity, 
particularly  when  the  nature  of  its  wounds  are  considered. 
However,  not  being  able  to  get  near  us,  it  stopped  and  tried 
to  get  the  whale-lance  out  of  its  body;  it  failed,  but  gnawed 
the  stock  in  pieces.  The  boat  was  again  rowed  quickly  past 
it,  and  another  lance  thrust  into  it.  It  then,  with  great 
difficulty,  got  upon  a  piece  of  ice,  and  crawled  to  the  other 
side,  very  evidently  with  the  idea  of  escaping.  It  lay  on  the 
ice  growling  at  us  until  it  died.  In  the  afternoon  a  breeze 
sprang  up,  and  enabled  us  to  pursue  our  way  to  the  N.W. 

27th. — At  midnight  several  whales  were  seen,  and,  after 
many  fruitless  attempts,  a  harpooneer  struck  one  of  them; 
it  went  down,  and  remained  about  an  hour,  when  it  came 
up.  No  boat  dared  to  approach  it,  as  it  kept  one  of  its  fins 
menacingly  in  the  air.  A  harpooneer  threw  his  harpoon  at 
it,  and  fortunately  got  fast,  but  had  his  boat  injured  by  a 
blow  from  its  tail.  When  the  whale  rose  again,  it  again 
struck  at  one  of  the  boats  with  its  tail.  The  blow  fortunately 
fell  short  of  the  boat,  but  struck  the  oars  on  one  side,  making 
them  fly  up  in  the  air.  One  of  the  men  was  hurt  by  the 
springing  of  his  oar.  In  two  hours  more  it  was  killed.  The 
ship  was  made  fast  as  usual,  the  whale  brought  alongside, 
and  got  on  board  as  usual. 

At  7  in  the  morning  the  decks  were  cleared,  when  two 
whales  were  seen.  Six  boats  were  sent  after  them.  One 
was  struck  and  killed  in  three  hours;  and  after  being  got  on 
board  in  the  usual  manner,  the  ship  was  cast-off,  and  beat 
towards  the  head  of  the  floe. 

28th. — At  three  this  morning  we  got  to  the  head  of  the 
floe,  and  saw  several  whales,  and  sent  six  boats  in  three 
parties.  Two  of  the  boats,  while  lying  at  the  edge  of  the 
ice,  perceived  a  flock  of  unicorns  coming  towards  them. 
One    of    the    harpooneers    threw    his    harpoon    at    one,    and 


58  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

struck  it;  it  was  soon  killed,  and  was  taken  to  the  ship. 
During  his  absence  his  comrade  saw  three  whales  coming 
towards  him,  and  struck  one,  but  for  the  want  of  assistance 
was  obliged  to  let  it  go,  after  it  had  run  all  his  lines  out. 
About  the  same  time  a  whale  was  harpooned  by  one  of  the 
other  boats,  and  soon  killed;  but  before  the  five  boats  had 
secured  their  lines,  a  barrier  of  pieces  of  ice  came  down  and 
beset  them.  As  this  barrier  was  about  a  mile  and  a-half 
broad,  we  on  board  had  very  serious  apprehensions  for  their 
safety  and  for  the  loss  of  the  whale.  The  ice  continued  to 
come  down  till  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  when  it  peeled  off 
again  as  rapidly  as  it  had  come  down;  and  in  an  hour  and 
a-half  more  the  boats  and  the  whale  were  liberated,  after  an 
imprisonment  of  15  hours.  As  soon  as  they  were  free,  and 
whilst  returning  to  the  ship,  they  met  a  young  whale,  and 
very  soon  killed  it. 

30th. — Quite  calm  and  warm,  but  still  hazy. 

July  1st. — Strong  breezes.  The  ship  still  anchored  to  the 
ice.     Sent  the  boats  after  two  whales,  but  without  success. 

3rd. — To-day,  killed  a  very  large  bear,  and  handed  his  skin 
to  the  sailors  to  be  footed.  Ship  made  out  to  sea,  intending 
to  get  to  the  northward. 

4th. — In  open  sea,  and  proceeding  to  the  northward.  In 
the  evening,  fell  in  with  two  Dutch  ships,  clean. 

5th. — Stood  into  the  ice  again.     No  whales  to  be  seen. 

6th,  7th  and  8th. — Thick  and  foggy;  weather  quite  warm. 

9th. — Made  fast  to  a  floe  for  the  purpose  of  filling  our 
fresh-water  casks  from  the  ice.  As  one  of  the  boats  was 
leaving  the  ship,  the  steersman  broke  his  oar  in  pushing  off, 
and  fell  into  the  water;  as  the  boat  had  way  on  at  the  time, 
it  went  a  short  distance  ahead;  on  returning,  owing  to  the 
unskilfulness  of  the  man  who  undertook  to  steer,  the  har- 
pooneer  could  not  reach  him,  and  he  sank.  He  saw  him  under 
water,  and  tried  to  get  hold  of  him  with  a  boat-hook,  but 
failed.  He  was  a  fine  young  man — a  native  of  Berwick,  and 
22  years  of  age. 

11th. — Being  nearly  full,  Capt.  Dannatt  determined  to 
abandon  any  further  attempts  to  capture  the  whale,  and  to 
proceed  homewards. 


SURGEON  OF  A  WHALER  59 

13th. — Were  surrounded  by  the  remains  of  a  wrecked 
vessel — loose  spars,  companion-doors,  &c. ;  among  them  was 
a  topmast  with  the  name  "Rover,  of  Bristol";  but  as  no 
Greenland-man  of  that  name  sailed  out  of  Bristol,  or  out  of 
any  Bristish  port,  it  was  supposed  to  be  some  merchantman 
who  had  been  driven  out  of  her  course  and  perished  among 
the  ice.  Among  the  floating  wreck  was  one  piece  very 
suggestive:  it  was  a  substitute  for  a  rudder,  made  out  of  a 
topmast  and  jibboom,  with  spars  fastened  across  by  copper 
nails,  long  pieces  of  iron,  ships'  bolts,  wooden  trenails,  and 
rope.  It  was  attempted  to  be  weighted  down  by  seven 
fathoms  of  chain-cable.  In  the  evening,  got  into  a  stream 
of  ice,  on  which  were  immense  numbers  of  seals,  but  failed 
to  take  them. 

17th. — Very  nearly  captured  a  very  large  sea-horse,  which 
we  found  asleep  on  a  piece  of  ice. 

19th. — Were  surrounded  by  immense  shoals  of  herrings, 
swimming  close  to  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  causing  it  to 
present  a  very  peculiar  appearance.  We  tried  all  sorts  of 
plans  to  take  some,  but  failed.  A  number  of  bottlenoses — 
"Balcena-Rostrata" — accompanied  them,  and  seemed  to  be 
more  successful.  In  the  evening  a  gale  came  on,  and  blew 
with  great  violence  from  N.E.,  which  drove  the  ship  at  the 
rate  of  nine  knots,  with  a  close-reefed  fore-topsail. 

20th. — The  gale  continues  with  less  violence.  In  the  even- 
ing a  man  on  deck  declared  he  saw  land,  and  was  heartily 
laughed  at  for  the  idea.  A  few  hours  later,  however,  the 
weather  cleared  up,  and  discovered  us  close  in  to  Trinity 
Island,  at  Jan  Mayen,  from  which  we  supposed  ourselves  to 
be  far  distant.  A  very  few  hours'  continuance  of  the  foggy 
weather  would  have  reduced  the  Trafalgar  to  the  condition 
of  the  Rover,  of  Bristol,  whose  remains  we  saw  a  week  ago. 
The  ship  was  immediately  close-hauled,  and  stood  to  the 
eastward,  giving  Jan  Mayen  what  the  seamen  call  "a  wide 
berth." 

29th. — We  got  among  great  quantities  of  sea-weeds,  herb- 
age, star-fish,  &c,  indicating  our  vicinity  to  land.  The  nights 
now  are  an  hour  and  a-half  long. 


60  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

30th. — Calm.  Surrounded  for  the  first  time  by  numbers 
of  large  dark-coloured  birds,  called  boatswains  by  the  sailors, 
from  two  long,  stiff,  and  sharp-pointed  feathers,  which  form 
the  tail,  and  give  the  resemblance  to  a  marlin-spike.  They 
seem  to  be  regular  pirates.  They  do  not  fish  for  themselves; 
but  when  they  perceive  any  other  bird  with  a  fish,  they 
pursue,  and  do  not  cease  tormenting  it  until  it  drops  the  fish, 
which  they  generally  secure  before  it  drops  into  the  water. 

From  this  time  until  our  arrival  in  Shetland,  on  the  7th 
August,  the  Trafalgar  was  generally  in  soundings,  and  I 
caught  abundance  of  mackerel,  coal-fish,  cod,  and  ling.  Our 
stay  in  Brassa  Sound  was  merely  long  enough  to  enable  the 
agent  to  pay  off  our  Shetland-men.  We  then  proceeded  to 
Hull,  where  we  arrived  on  the  21st  of  August,  without  any 
particular  occurrence. 

My  father  added  to  his  original  Journal  the  fol- 
lowing notes: 

This  journal  terminates  rather  abruptly  on  the  30th  of 
July.  The  original  notes  were  continued  daily,  untill  the 
Trafalgar's  arrival  in  Hull,  and  a  few  pages  were  added, 
which  now  might  be  of  interest  to  my  friends,  but  the  origi- 
nal journal  and  notes  were  unfortunately  wetted  by  the  up- 
setting of  my  canoe  in  the  surf  when  landing  on  the  coast 
of  Poyais,  and  was  greatly  destroyed  by  my  neglect  to  dry 
it.  The  latter  part  was  intirely  destroyed,  which  will  account 
for  its  abrupt  termination. 

In  the  preceding  journal,  I  have  given  an  account  of  the 
mode  of  cutting  up  the  whale,  or  "flensing"  it,  as  the  opera- 
tion is  called  by  the  whalers.  The  large  pieces  are  cut  off 
squarely, — hoisted  on  deck,  and  at  once  lowered  into  the  be- 
tween decks,  forward,  by  means  of  tackles  and  windlasses. 
The  crew  is  then  mustered,  and  armed  with  hooks  and  long 
knives,  the  masses  of  blubber  are  seized,  placed  on  rough  low 
tables,  and  cut  up  into  longish  pieces,  weighing  ten  or 
twelve  pounds  each;  they  are  then  transmitted  into  the  hold 
of  the  ship,  thro'  a  long  canvas  tube  or  funnel,  the  mouth 
of  which  opens  into  the  bung  hole  of  a  cask,  untill  it  is  filled, 
when  the  bung  is  replaced,  only  to  be  removed  in  the  smelting 


SURGEON  OF  A  WHALER  61 

house,  in  Hull.  The  lower  or  ground  tier  is  of  casks  of 
larger  size,  which  are  filled  with  fresh  water,  and,  ad  interim, 
serve  as  ballast,  for  washing  decks,  and  for  ordinary  purposes, 
where  extreme  pureness  is  not  required. 

This  process  of  cutting  the  blubber  into  strips,  and  bar- 
relling it,  is  called  "making  off."  These  operations  of  flens- 
ing, and  making  off,  leave  the  decks  and  the  between  decks, 
clear  and  clean,  and  leaves  the  blubber  to  be  rendered,  after 
the  ship's  arrival  in  Hull. 

In  the  South  sea  whale  fisheries,  the  climate  makes  the 
process  of  rendering  or  reducing  the  blubber  into  oil,  com- 
pulsory at  once,  or  at  least  very  shortly  after  the  animal 
is  killed.  The  oil,  thus  rendered,  is  then  brought  home  in 
huge  tanks.  In  the  Greenland  ships,  excepting  those  in  the 
lower  tier  in  the  hold,  the  casks  are  shipped  in  their  staves, 
and  are  only  set  up  on  board,  when,  or  as  required. 

As  may  be  seen  by  the  perusal  of  my  journal,  the  great 
object  of  the  Trafalgar's  voyage  was  the  killing  of  the  whale, 
every  thing  was  rendered  subsidiary  to  that,  vessels,  as  the 
Trafalgar  did,  sometimes  left  England  a  couple  of  weeks 
earlier,  for  the  seal  hunting  on  the  shores,  or  on  the  ice,  off 
the  island  of  San  Meyn,  and  the  venture  was  sometimes  ex- 
tremely fortunate.  The  killing  of  seals  however  is  very  un- 
certain, sometimes  counting  by  thousands,  and  sometimes,  like 
the  Trafalgar,  without  seeing  any. 

In  Greenland,  the  hunt  of  a  whale,  or,  of  a  polar  bear  had 
the  same  sameness,  the  object,  in  either  case  being  to  take 
and  to  keep  the  animal  away  from  the  shelter  of  the  ice, 
where  only  he  could  find  shelter.  The  whale  being  a  warm 
blooded  animal,  consequently  possesses  a  heart  and  lungs, 
and  sustains  life  only  by  breathing  the  air,  which,  of  course, 
it  is  obliged  to  come  to  the  surface  to  do.  It  however  pos- 
sesses the  faculty  or  the  power  of  sustaining  life  without 
breathing,  for  a  very  much  longer  time  than  any  other  warm 
blooded  animal  I  am  acquainted  with. 

The  female  whale  like  all  warm  blooded  animals,  has  a 
womb  and  teats,  and  suckles  its  young,  of  which  it  pro- 
duces one  at  a  birth,  at  any  rate  among  the  droves  of 
whales  I  have  seen,  I  never  could  perceive  one  with  twins. 


62  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

During  the  Trafalgar's  stay  in  the  ice,  twenty  one  whales 
were  killed,  and  were  fully  secured. 

Four  polar  Bears  were  killed,  by  arrangement  with  Capt. 
Dannatt,  the  third  bear  fell  to  my  lot,  I  however  lost  it, 
for  after  it  had  been  seduced  from  the  shelter  of  the  ice  to 
following  the  boat,  my  gun  would  not  go  off,  and  it  was 
shot  by  Captain  Dannatt.  I  therefore  declined  to  take  the 
skin,  preferring  the  chance  of  getting  another,  and,  as  it 
turned  out,  I  was  amply  compensated,  for  the  Bear  shot  on 
the  3d  of  July,  fell  to  my  gun;  it  was  a  very  large  one,  a 
male,  its  skin  when  dressed,  measuring  nine  feet  from  nose 
to  tail,  with  due  stretching,  the  tail  of  the  Polar  Bear,  how- 
ever, is  very  short,  in  fact  is  a  mere  stump. 

The  mode  of  dressing  the  skins  was  a  peculiar  one,  and 
I  have  only  seen  it  practiced  in  Greenland,  two  long  oars 
were  fixed  about  breast  high  from  the  lower  deck,  and  about 
three  feet  apart,  the  Bear's  skin  was  then  put  into  a  large 
canvas  bag,  with  a  quantity  of  sawdust,  and  trodden  down 
under  foot,  backwards  and  forwards,  by  one  of  the  crew. 
This  process  was  called  footing,  and  it  was  continued  for 
many  days,  untill  the  skin  was  deprived  of  all  its  moisture, 
and  was  reduced  to  a  state  resembling  chamois  leather.  The 
hair  was  in  no  way  injured  by  this  process  of  footing. 

This  skin  did  duty  as  a  hearth  rug  until  my  mother's 
death,  and  now  is  in  the  keeping  of  my  sister,  Mrs.  Dale, 
apparently  little  the  worse  for  the  wear  of  sixty  years. 

During  the  Trafalgar's  stay  in  the  ice,  twenty- one  whales 
were  killed.  They  were  however  mostly  males,  and  in  pro- 
portion to  their  age,  and  to  the  size  of  their  whalebone  or 
strainers,  they  yielded  less  thickness  of  blubber  than  fe- 
males. The  Trafalgar's  voyage  however  was  a  successful 
one,  a  very  profitable  one  to  the  owners,  and  a  very  pleasant 
and  instructive  one  to  me,  and  profitable  to  me  far  beyond 
my  salary,  and  my  interest  in  the  whale  money,  as  it  gave 
me  a  knowledge  of  men  and  things,  and  gave  me  moreover 
habits  of  thought,  of  study,  and  of  self  reliance,  which  very 
materially  served  me  in  after  life. 

My  engagement  with  the  owners  of  the  Trafalgar,  com- 
prised four  guineas  a  month,  a  guinea  for  every  whale  killed, 


SUEGEON  OF  A  WHALER  63 

and   a   guinea   for  every   thousand   of   seals  killed,   of    these 
however,  we  killed  none. 

As  the  Rum,  Tea,  Sugar  and  Tobacco  were  supplied  duty 
free,  it  seemed  to  be  understood  that  it  was  not  worth  while  to 
return  a  quantity  of  broken  stores  to  the  custom  house  at 
the  close  of  the  voyage,  these  consequently  were  divided 
among  Capt.  Dannatt,  Mr.  Ashe,  and  me.  When  the  great 
number  of  vessels  from  Hull,  engaged  in  the  whale  fishery  is 
considered,  it  may  easily  be  imagined  that  the  amount  of 
customs  dues,  paid  by  the  attendants  on  the  docks,  for  their 
private  use,  was  homoapathic. — Which  being  interpreted  means 
that  these  followers  of  John  Wesley  bribed  the  custom  offi- 
cials with  part  of  the  surplus  stores  for  passing  the  balance. 

The  autobiography  continues: 

"On  the  termination  of  my  Arctic  voyage,  I  found 
my  Father  stationed  at  Brigg,  in  Lincolnshire,  where 
I  spent  a  month,  before  returning  to  Edinburgh  to 
finish  the  prescribed  Curriculum  there.  During  this 
second  Winter  session,  I  one  day  wandered  into  the 
lecture  room  of  Mr.  Robert  Liston,  a  private  lecturer 
on  Anatomy  and  Surgery,  and  I  was  so  much  struck 
by  his  manner  and  by  the  clear  and  masterly  way  in 
which  he  treated  his  subject,  that  although  I  had 
taken  the  ticket  of  the  College  Professor,  I  entered 
myself  as  a  pupil  of  Mr.  Liston,  and  I  have  reason  to 
attribute  a  great  measure  of  my  success  in  my  profes- 
sion, to  his  precepts  and  example.  Mr.  Liston  had  a 
room  for  practical  anatomy,  which  was  superintended 
by  Mr.  Syme,  his  pupil  and  assistant.  I  took  the 
ordinary  ticket  of  admission,  but,  from  the  extravagant 
prices  demanded  for  subjects,  I  had  little  prospect  of 
being  able  to  dissect.  Fortune  favoured  me  however, 
for  among  the  very  small  number  of  students  who 
attended  the  Class  was  a  Creole  gentleman;  he  was 


64  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

very  extensively  got  up  for  a  dissecting  room.  He 
wore  kid  gloves,  and  being  rather  shy  of  using  the 
scalpel,  was  delighted  to  get  me  to  use  it  for  him, 
while  he  took  the  book. 

"I  again  attended  the  two  courses  of  lectures  on 
Anatomy  and  Surgery,  by  Dr.  Barclay.  I  attended 
the  lectures  on  Military  Surgery  by  Dr.  Thompson, 
and  which  in  my  opinion  were  not  worth  the  fees 
which  I  had  paid  for  them.  I  was  the  recipient  of  a 
very  delicate  and  beautiful  act  of  kindness,  at  the 
hands  of  Dr.  Home,  the  lecturer  on  Materia  Medica. 
"When  I  called  upon  him  to  take  the  ticket  for  his 
course  of  lectures,  he  asked  me  why  I  had  not  taken  it 
the  previous  winter  session ;  I  told  him  that  intending 
to  go  to  Greenland,  I  would  have  been  obliged  to  leave 
Edinburgh,  before  the  close  of  his  course.  He  then 
entered  into  a  lengthy  conversation  with  me  on  the 
anatomy  and  the  habits  of  the  different  denizens  of 
the  Arctic  regions,  with  which  he  evidently  was  very 
well  acquainted,  and  in  which  he  seemed  to  be  much 
interested.  After  giving  me  my  ticket  and  receiving 
his  fees,  he  accompanied  me  to  the  passage,  where  he 
very  kindly  shook  hands  with  me,  and  closed  the  door, 
leaving  in  my  hands  the  four  guineas,  which  I  had  just 
paid  him.  I  stood  at  the  door  for  a  minute  or  two, 
struggling  with  varied  feelings  of  wounded  pride  and 
a  sense  of  his  consideration  to  me,  a  perfect  stranger. 
The  latter  predominated.  On  the  7th  day  of  April, 
1820,  I  passed  my  examination  before  the  Royal  Col- 
lege of  Surgeons  in  Edinburgh,  and  received  my 
diploma 


SURGEON  OF  A  WHALER  65 

Student  life  in  Edinburgh  had  not  changed  when 
I  was  a  student  there  forty  years  later.  The  1,500 
lads,  mostly  poor,  who  annually  attended  the  Uni- 
versity lectures,  still  lived  as  they  had  done  a  cen- 
tury ago.  A  good  room  with  a  sleeping  closet  could 
be  had  in  parts  of  the  old  town  for  $1.25  a  week, 
the  rent  including  service,  cooking  and  fuel;  and 
two  sumptuous  rooms  could  be  rented  for  $2.50  on 
the  same  conditions.  If  you  were  so  fortunate  as 
to  have  a  landlady  who  did  not  help  herself  out  of 
your  larder,  you  could  live  healthfully  on  25  cents 
a  day.  The  poorer  students,  especially  if  sons  of 
farmers,  received  their  oatmeal  and  butter  from 
borne;  others  either  bought  their  own  provisions  or 
trusted  their  landlady  to  cater  for  them  on  a  pre- 
scribed dietary. 

Edinburgh  having  been  for  centuries  a  univer- 
sity town  under  the  Scotch  system,  where  the  stu- 
dents' relations  to  the  college  begin  and  end  with 
attendance  at  lectures,  and  having  been,  like  all 
Scotch  universities,  attended  by  poor  students,  the 
system  of  board  and  lodging  has  accommodated  itself 
to  their  circumstances;  but  it  is  one  which  might  be 
advantageously  copied  in  some  of  its  features  else- 
where. 

Although  this  system  does  not  encourage  that  cor- 
porate spirit  and  emulation  in  pursuits  physical  and 
intellectual,  which  the  English  collegiate  system  fos- 
ters, and  which  our  own  is  imitating,  it  does 
strengthen  that  spirit  of  self-reliance  which  is,  per- 
haps, already  strong  enough,  without  further  en- 
couragement, in  the  Scotch  character.     The  Scotch 


66  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

student  always  looks  back  with  satisfaction  to  the 
period  when  he  was  thrown  on  his  own  resources 
and  honor,  free  from  the  restraints  of  school  and 
home,  and  uncontrolled  by  other  authority  than  that 
which  the  common  law  enforces.  My  father,  how- 
ever, needed  no  stimulus  of  that  kind. 

Of  late  the  tendency  has  been  to  correct  the  isola- 
tion of  the  old  university  system  and  to  unite  the 
students  and  graduates  more  and  more  in  associate 
action.  The  S.  F.  C.  (the  Students'  Representative 
Council),  the  Union,  the  Students'  Clubs  and  other 
organizations,  which  had  no  existence  in  my  father's 
or  my  day,  must  have  greatly  modified  the  life  of  the 
University.  The  first  move  in  this  direction  was  made 
in  1859-1860,  when  the  students  were  called  on  to 
elect  a  Lord  Rector,  and  a  choice  was  made  which 
may  have  had  very  far-reaching  results. 

The  candidates  were  Lord  Nairn,  a  Lord  of  Ses- 
sions, Mr.  Gladstone  and  Mr.  Carlyle.  The  Judge  of 
Sessions  carried  the  votes  of  only  the  extreme  Kirk 
party.  There  were  not  enough  radical  votes  to  elect 
Carlyle,  and  Gladstone  came  in  at  the  head  of  the 
polls,  though  many  of  us  felt  it  was  an  insult  to 
our  own  university  system  to  elect  even  to  the  per- 
functory office  of  Lord  Rector  the  Parliamentary 
representative  of  an  English  university  and  who  would 
be  too  wedded  and  prejudiced,  in  favor  of  English 
ways  of  life  and  methods  to  be  impartial.  But 
we  little  dreamt  of  the  marvelous  political  versa- 
tility and  cosmopolitan  capacity  of  Lord  Palmer- 
ston's  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  We  realized 
his  intellectual  versatility  when  he  rushed  up  from 


SURGEON  OF  A  WHALES  67 

London,  after  holding  the  House  spellbound  by  one 
of  his  brilliant  budget  orations,  to  describe  to  us,  in 
a  two  hours'  speech,  the  universities  of  the  Middle 
Ages;  but  no  one  foresaw  in  the  supposed  embodi- 
ment of  Englishism  the  future  member  for  Midlo- 
thian, or  the  political  idol  of  his  dear  Scotland.  The 
decision  of  that  rabble  of  Scotch  boys,  by  first  draw- 
ing Mr.  Gladstone's  inexhaustible  sympathies  toward 
Scotland,  may  have  had  an  influence  on  the  destinies 
of  the  Empire. 

After  taking  his  degree  in  Edinburgh  my  father 
proceeded  to  London  for  the  purpose  of  graduating 
there  also  in  surgery.  The  subterfuge  by  which  he 
evaded  the  rules,  requiring  all  applicants  to  be  at 
least  twenty-two  years  of  age,  illustrates  several 
phases  of  his  character:  his  indomitable  deter- 
mination to  compass  his  purpose;  the  courage  with 
which  he  would  meet  a  difficulty;  a  slight  tendency 
to  accept  and  adopt  the  principle  that  the  end  jus- 
tifies the  means,  and  a  keen  enjoyment  of  a  game  of 
finesse.  He  was  always  willing  to  fight  with  any 
weapons — no  one  bolder  in  a  face-to-face  fight — but 
he  could  dissemble  when  it  served  his  purpose.  He 
thus  tells  the  story  of  how  he  coolly  handed  the  mag- 
nates of  the  Royal  College  the  proofs  of  his  own 
disqualification,  and  yet  passed.  One  of  his  students 
long  afterwards,  doubting  the  occurrence,  turned 
up  the  records,  and  while  admitting  his  suspicions 
confirmed  the  fact. 

"I  at  once  proceeded  to  London,  and  attached  my- 
self to  the  practice  in  Guy 's,  and  in  St.  Bartholomew 's 
Hospitals,  and  to  attendance  on  the  lectures  of  Mr. 


68  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

Abernethy,  and  of  Sir  Astley  Cooper.  My  object  was 
to  be  admitted  a  member  of  the  Royal  College  of 
Surgeons,  in  London.  My  maternal  uncle,  Dr.  James 
Mellis  was  then,  and  had  been  for  many  years  in  the 
service  of  the  Honourable  East  India  Company.  He 
had  written  to  his  agents,  Messrs.  Fairlie,  Bonham 
and  Co.,  in  London,  instructing  them  to  pay  all  ex- 
penses connected  with  my  admission  as  member  of 
the  College.  There  however  was  an  obstacle  in  my 
age;  the  bye-law  of  the  College  required  candidates 
for  Membership  to  be  at  least  22  years  of  age,  and  I 
would  only  be  20  on  the  day  after  examination.  No 
declaration  was  admitted,  but  a  certificate  or  a  copy 
of  the  baptismal  register.  I  procured  the  latter  from 
my  Grandfather  in  Aberdeen. 

"On  the  evening  of  the  19th.  May,  1820,  I  pre- 
sented myself  at  the  College  for  examination.  When 
called,  I  was  conducted  to  the  President,  Sir  David 
Dundas,  who  required  my  tickets  and  certificates;  I 
gave  them  to  him,  along  with  my  Diploma  from 
Edinburgh;  He  looked  them  over,  and  asked  for  the 
certificate  of  my  age;  I  handed  to  him  my  Grand- 
father's letter,  enclosing  the  extract  from  the  Parish 
register,  He  commenced  reading  the  letter  and  asked 
me  what  it  meant.  I  told  him  that  the  certificate  of 
my  birth  was  on  the  other  page  and  seeing  that  it 
was  a  baptismal  record,  he  stuck  it  on  a  fyle  without 
reading  it.  I  being  of  course  anxious  to  retain  it, 
asked  him  to  return  it  to  me;  He  replied  that  they 
were  always  fyled.  I  told  him  that  I  was  about  to 
embark  for  India,  where  I  might  require  it,  and  would 


SURGEON  OF  A  WHALER  69 

not  then  have  time  to  procure  another;  Upon  this  he 
took  it  off  the  file  and  returned  it  to  me. 

"I  was  then  conducted  to  Sir  Everard  Home,  and 
Mr.  Keate,  who  examined  me  on  the  Anatomy  of 
the  Urinary  Organs,  and  who  seemed  satisfied  with 
my  answers.  The  Gentleman  with  the  gold  stick, 
then  preceeded  me  into  the  Museum,  where  nine,  out 
of  the  fourteen  candidates  were  mustered.  We  then 
returned  into  the  Hall,  where  Sir  David  addressed 
us  at  some  length,  and  after  the  customary  oaths  had 
been  taken,  we  departed.  The  ceremonies  through- 
out were  very  imposing,  and  much  more  calculated  to 
impress  the  mind  with  the  dignity  of  the  profession, 
than  the  examination  of  candidates  in  Edinburgh. 

"The  following  day,  being  my  twentieth  birthday, 
I  returned  to  the  College,  where  Sir  E.  Balfour,  the 
Secretary,  presented  me  with  my  Diploma,  which 
constituted  me  a  Member  of  the  Royal  College  of 
Surgeons,  in  London.  A  few  days  afterwards,  I 
was  elected  a  Member  of  the  Royal  Jennerian  Socie- 
ty, and  of  the  London  Vaccine  Institution,  and  re- 
ceived their  diplomas,  which  I  still  possess." 

He  was  now  fairly  launched  in  life,  but  he  had 
to  pass  through  two  or  three  eventful  episodes  be- 
fore settling  down  to  its  routine  duties. 

A  year  in  India  was  a  startling  contrast  to  the 
summer  in  Greenland.  His  narrative  of  his  India 
experience  is  again  a  copy  from  a  contemporaneous 
journal,  a  portion  only  of  whose  torn  and  faded 
leaves  survived  the  Poyais  expedition. 


CHAPTER  III 

A   YEAR  IN   INDIA   AND   ANOTHER   IN   GOING   AND 
RETURNING 

Like  so  many  Englishmen  then  and  since,  he  had 
family  ties  attracting  him  to  India.  His  uncle  on 
his  mother's  side  was  a  medical  man  in  the  East 
India  Company's  service.  His  brother-in-law  was 
an  Indian  judge,  and  his  brother-in-law's  uncle  a 
director  of  the  company.  With  such  influence  to 
back  him  he  looked  forward  to  a  permanent  appoint- 
ment in  India,  but  meanwhile  he  accepted  tempo- 
rary employment  and  was  attached  to  the  artillery 
at  Dum  Dum,  near  Calcutta.  He  went  out  as  surgeon 
to  the  free  trader,  "The  Theodosia,"  owned  by  Mr. 
Gladstone,  of  Liverpool,  the  late  Premier's  father. 
The  voyage  out  occupied  six  months  and  the  return 
voyage  the  same  endless  time.  Card  playing  was  the 
principal  occupation  on  board,  and  repentance  be- 
cause of  such  a  woeful  waste  of  time  made  him 
forswear  that  innocent  amusement  during  the  whole 
of  his  subsequent  active  life.  They  called  in  at 
Funchal,  Madeira,  sailed  in  sight  of  the  Peak  of 
Teneriffe  and  landed  on  rocky  San  Antonio,  one  of 
the  Cape  Verde  Islands,  for  fresh  provisions,  as  their 


72  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

live  stock  had  been  washed  overboard  in  the  Bay  of 
Biscay.  The  natives,  semi-civilized  blacks,  treated 
them  hospitably,  rescued  them  from  the  surf  when 
upset,  and  sold  them  dried  goat's  meat,  as  well  as 
fruit,  raised  on  the  small  patches  of  soil  which  had 
accumulated  on  the  rocky  ravines.  On  parting  the 
doctor  gave  the  chief  his  shoes  and  stockings  and  a 
match  box.  This  was  before  the  days  of  the  lucifer. 
The  apparatus  contained  matches  tipped  with  chlo- 
ride of  potash  and  a  bottle  of  asbestos  saturated 
with  oil  of  vitriol.  The  combination  went  off  with 
greater  explosive  violence  than  a  safety  or  a  parlor 
match  and  threw  the  natives  into  raptures. 

The  scanty  stock  of  vegetables  and  dried  meat  was 
soon  exhausted,  and  scurvy  made  its  appearance  be- 
fore reaching  Ascension,  where  they  stopped  for  tur- 
tle. He  describes  the  island,  which  was  being  used 
as  a  kind  of  sentry  box  to  watch  St.  Helena,  and 
was  in  a  transitory  state  just  after  its  occupation,  as 
follows : 

"Bonaparte,  at  this  time,  was  a  prisoner  on  St. 
Helena,  and  all  communication  with  the  island  was 
most  rigidly  interdicted.  Ascension  also  was  occu- 
pied by  a  party  of  Marines,  under  the  command  of 
Lieutenant  Campbell,  who  sent  a  gunner  on  board 
with  a  request  to  Capt.  Kidson  to  go  on  shore.  I 
went  with  him.  As  a  heavy  surf  breaks  on  the  shore, 
a  curious  contrivance  has  been  adopted,  for  effect- 
ing a  landing;  from  a  rocky  promontory  which  runs 
outside  of  the  surf,  an  iron  chain  is  attached  to  a 
floating  barrel,  which  is  anchored  about  30  feet  off. 
A  boat  approaching,  gets  hold  of  the  chain,  and  is 


A  YEAR  IN  INDIA  73 

gradually  eased  in,  to  within  a  foot  of  the  rock, 
when  the  person  may  step  out.  Steps  cut  out  of  the 
rock  ascend  to  its  top,  where  the  person  may  walk 
along  the  promontory  to  the  mainland.  On  landing 
we  proceeded  to  the  settlement,  which  is  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  off,  and  consists  of  several  houses 
and  sheds,  which  form  a  square. 

"  Ascension  Island  is  in  longitude  14°  West  and 
in  latitude  75°  57  M.  south.  It  is  entirely  of  volcanic 
origin,  the  greater  part  of  the  island  is  lava,  many 
of  the  rocks  are  half  fused,  some  are  burnt  to  a  cin- 
der, and  are  red  and  crumbling.  There  are  three  or 
four  hills,  or  rather  cones;  I  could  perceive  no  sign 
of  soil,  or  of  vegetation,  there  was  no  water;  in 
fact,  the  first  question  asked,  was,  could  we  spare 
them  a  cask  or  two  of  water.  When  Napoleon  was 
exiled  to  St.  Helena,  Ascension  was  taken  possession 
of,  as  it  was  thought,  that  if  he  should  escape,  it 
could  only  be  in  an  open  boat,  and  that  South  Amer- 
ica being  too  distant,  he  could  only  make  for  Ascen- 
sion. The  square  on  which  the  houses  of  the  Ma- 
rines and  of  the  women  and  children  are  built,  has 
been  cleared,  with  great  labour,  of  the  rocks  with 
which  it  was  covered;  the  houses  are  of  wood,  and 
are  small  and  incommodious.  We  were  very  hos- 
pitably received.  We  dined  and  supped  with  the 
mess.  We  then  proceeded  to  a  white  sandy  beach, 
where  we  took  nine  turtle,  weighing  from  five  to 
seven  hundred  weight  each." 

On  the  return  voyage  he  writes: 

"After  a  pleasant  run  through  the  southern  trade 
winds,  we  reached  Ascension  Island.    Here  I  found 


74  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

matters  very  much  altered  since  my  former  visit. 
Napoleon  had  died  at  St.  Helena,  and  it  had  been 
determined  to  continue  the  occupation  of  Ascension 
Island.  Accordingly,  some  of  the  wooden  huts  were 
being  replaced  by  stone  barracks,  for  a  party  of  ma- 
rines. A  very  small  spring  of  water  had  issued  from 
the  very  highest  summit  of  the  hill,  which  was  about 
three  thousand  feet.  A  space  was  being  cleared  of 
the  igneous  rocks,  around  the  spring,  and  it  was  the 
intention  to  bring  some  soil  from  the  Cape,  and  at- 
tempt to  raise  salad.  Dr.  Thompson,  an  old  fellow 
student,  was  in  medical  charge.  He  had  been  sta- 
tioned at  St.  Helena,  at  the  time  of  Napoleon's 
death;  and  gave  me  an  account  of  the  postmortem 
appearances.  He  also  gave  me  a  lock  of  his  hair,  and 
some  of  the  snuff,  out  of  the  magnificent  gold  snuff 
box  which  Buonaparte  had  given  to  Dr.  Antomarchi, 
his  medical  attendant,  which  snuff  Dr.  A.  had  di- 
vided with  the  medical  gentlemen !  The  little  ground 
thus  recovered  still  supplies  the  twenty-seven  in- 
habitants with  vegetables  and  fruit. ' ' 

To  return  to  the  story  of  the  outward  voyage: 
"Turtle  was  a  delicious  substitute  for  salt  junk, 
but  of  all  articles  for  a  steady  diet,  turtle  must  soon 
become  the  most  nauseating."  And  therefore,  as  the 
Journal  says :  ' '  Though  our  cook  was  a  good  one  and 
served  up  turtle  three  times  a  day  in  various  forms, 
after  a  while  we  lost  our  extreme  relish  for  it,  and 
bye  and  bye,  being  completely  surfeited  with  it,  we 
could  not  bear  the  sight  of  it  upon  the  table.  The 
sailors'  mess  was  supplied  with  turtle,  and  the  same 
symptoms  of  disrelish  began  to  be  exhibited  by  the 


A  YEAR  IN  INDIA  75 

seamen.  At  last  a  deputation  came  aft  to  petition 
Capt.  Kidson  to  give  orders  to  serve  out  the  usual 
allowance  of  salt  beef,  instead  of  turtle.  Some  said 
that  the  turtle  made  them  sick,  some  said  that  it 
gave  them  bowel  complaint,  and  others  said  that  it 
took  away  their  strength,  so  that  they  could  not  do 
their  work.  Capt.  Kidson  listened  to  their  com- 
plaints with  a  serious  face,  and  calling  the  steward, 
ordered  him  to  serve  out  to  the  messes  their  usual 
allowance  of  salt  beef,  and  to  hang  up  the  turtle, 
when  killed,  at  the  ship's  stern.  Then,  addressing 
the  men,  he  said,  'Now,  my  good  fellows,  you  have 
your  junk  again,  and  if  I  catch  any  of  you  meddling 
with  my  turtle,  why,  look  out.'  This  went  well 
enough  for  three  or  four  days,  when  mutterings  were 
again  heard  from  the  seamen, — 'too  bad;  is  it  not  a 

d d  shame,  plenty  of  fine  fat  turtle  on  board, 

and  won't  give  us  a  bit.'  Portions  of  the  turtle, 
however,  occasionally  and  mysteriously  disappeared." 
They  did  not  touch  at  the  Cape,  coasted  along 
Ceylon,  sailed  in  sight  of  the  Coromandel  coast  and 
landed  at  Madras.  Seven  Indiamen,  two  Chinamen 
and  some  small  craft  constituted  the  entire  fleet  in 
the  roadstead.  There  was  no  pier  or  breakwater, 
and  landing  was  effected  through  the  heavy  surf  in 
the  elastic  native  Massoolah  boats.  Once  on  land, 
the  boatmen  handed  their  prey  over  to  the  palanquin 
owners.  All  of  which  first  episode  of  Oriental  travel 
leaves  in  the  Westerner  a  much  more  picturesque 
impression  than  the  clamor  with  which  our  cabmen 
assail  a  stranger.  While  the  ship  was  in  the  roads 
he  found  the  surgeon  of  an  Indiaman  willing  to  take 


76  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

his  duty,  and  he  spent  the  interval  with  a  missionary 
friend  of  his  father,  a  Mr.  Lynch,  at  Royah  Pettah. 
The  mission  seems  not  to  have  made  adequate  re- 
turn for  the  labor  expended  on  it,  and  the  lack  of 
Christian  school  teachers  obliged  the  society  in  those 
early  days  to  avail  itself  of  heathen  teachers,  for 
the  journal  narrates  that:  "At  Royah  Pettah  the 
missionaries  have  a  school  for  native  children,  un- 
der the  instruction  of  a  Brahmin  teacher;  they  are 
taught  reading  and  writing,  on  sand,  and  strips  of 
the  olla  leaf,  on  which  latter  their  manuscripts  are 
written,  or  rather  scratched.  The  mission  school, 
as  well  as  the  mission  itself,  is  not  in  a  thriving  con- 
dition, although  both  have  been  in  existence  about 
seven  years.  There  are  twelve  converts,  the  most  of 
whom  are  employed  about  the  establishment. ' ' 

His  intimate  relationship  with  prominent  officials 
enabled  him  to  see  a  little  more  of  native  society 
than  most  travelers  can  possibly  enjoy,  but  his  ac- 
count of  what  he  saw  indoors  and  out  of  doors  is  of 
less  interest  than  his  recollections  of  Carey  and  the 
effort  of  the  early  missionaries  to  induce  the  Gov- 
ernment to  interfere  in  the  interests  of  humanity 
against  certain  Hindoo  customs: 

"During  my  stay  in  India  I  was  fortunate  in 
making  the  acquaintance  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Carey,  the 
Baptist  missionary,  who  was  an  intimate  friend  of 
Mr.  Dale  (my  brother-in-law).  Dr.  Carey  and  two 
colleagues,  Messrs.  Marshman  and  Ward,  had  come 
out  to  India  about  twenty  years  before  for  the  pur- 
pose of  evangelizing  the  heathen.  The  East  India 
Company,   having  supreme  power,   refused   to  give 


A  YEAR  IN  INDIA  77 

them  permission  to  remain,  and  ordered  them  to 
return  by  a  vessel  about  to  sail.  Dr.  Carey  and  his 
colleagues  took  refuge  under  the  Danish  flag,  at 
Serampore,  a  small  station  about  fifteen  miles  from 
Calcutta,  where  they  still  reside.  Dr.  Carey  suf- 
fered great  persecution  at  the  hands  of  intolerant 
officials  for  many  years.  He,  as  well  as  his  col- 
leagues, were  treated  as  low,  meddling  and  ignorant 
fanatics,  who  had  come  out  to  disturb  the  religious 
feelings  of  the  natives.  The  idea  of  being  tolerated, 
or  even  acknowledged  by  Government  officials  was 
preposterous.  Mr.  Marshman  had  served  his  time  in 
England  as  a  printer,  and  Mr.  Ward  as  a  weaver. 
Dr.  Carey,  who,  when  I  became  acquainted  with 
him,  stood  high  in  public  estimation  as  a  gentleman 
and  a  profound  oriental  scholar,  had  been,  a  while 
before,  invited  to  dine  with  Lord  Hastings,  the  Gov- 
ernor General.  "While  in  the  ante-room,  an  officer 
of  high  rank,  enquired  of  an  aide-de-camp  'Was  not 
that  fellow  a  shoemaker  ? '  Dr.  Carey,  who  overheard 
the  question,  stepped  forward  and  answered,  'Oh, 
no  Sir,  I  was  only  a  cobbler.' 

"I  was  perfectly  delighted  with  the  little  inter- 
course I  had  with  Dr.  Carey,  and  with  the  wonder- 
ful faculty  which  he  possessed  of  conveying  informa- 
tion. At  that  time  (1821)  the  subject  of  Sutteeism, 
or  the  burning  of  widows  alive,  had  been  pressed  very 
strongly  on  the  Government  by  Dr.  Carey  and  Mr. 
Marshman,  who  had  collected  copious  statistics  on 
the  subject.  They  stated  that  during  six  months  in 
1804,  when  their  attention  was  first  directed  to  the 
horrid  rite,  more  than  three  hundred  widows  had 


78  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

been  burnt  alive,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Cal- 
cutta alone.  The  Government,  however,  paid  no  at- 
tention to  this  appeal,  Sutteeism,  as  well  as  all  their 
other  religious  rites  and  ceremonies,  having  been  se- 
cured to  them  by  the  Government. 

"Some  years  afterwards  it  was  brought  promi- 
nently before  the  Government  and  the  public.  To 
understand  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  I  may 
state  the  usual  ceremonies  at  a  Suttee.  The  widow, 
having  declared  her  intention  to  be  burnt,  a  plat- 
form is  erected  on  four  green  bamboo  poles  about 
ten  or  twelve  feet  long;  on  this  platform  or  stage 
the  dead  husband  is  laid  on  his  left  side ;  the  widow 
is  then  placed  at  his  side,  with  her  right  arm  under 
his  head,  and  with  his  right  arm  and  his  right  leg 
over  her,  the  twain  are  then  secured  by  bamboos 
lashed  across  them.  The  large  space  under  the  pile 
is  then  filled  with  branches  and  dry  wood,  plentifully 
smeared  with  native  butter  called  'Ghee,'  or  with 
oil.  The  widow's  son  or  the  nearest  of  kin,  then 
sets  fire  to  the  combustibles  amid  the  beating  of  torn 
toms  and  the  most  discordant  music,  and  shouts  from 
the  crowd.  This  was  the  ordinary  programme  of  a 
Suttee,  of  which  I  witnessed  many  on  my  way  from 
Dum  Dum  to  the  city,  and  on  one  occasion  I  wit- 
nessed two  being  carried  on  at  the  same  time,  at 
some  considerable  distance  from  each  other.  These 
Suttees  are  always  performed  on  the  side  of  the 
river  opposite  to  the  road  from  Dum  Dum  to  Cal- 
cutta, and  I  never  was  induced  to  cross  the  river  for 
a  nearer  view. 


A  YEAR  IN  INDIA  79 

"However,  as  I  have  stated,  the  practice  had  been 
brought  before  the  Government,  as  follows:  On  one 
occasion,  the  widow  had  extricated  herself  from  the 
pile,  and  had  run  off.  The  friends  had  caught  her, 
placed  her  again  on  the  pile,  and  burnt  her.  Mr. 
Carey  laid  an  information  against  them;  nothing, 
however,  was  done  to  them,  but  the  Governor  Gen- 
eral in  Council  issued  an  order  that  no  Suttee  should 
take  place  except  under  a  permit  granted  by  a  Com- 
missioner appointed  for  the  purpose,  and  this  permit 
was  only  obtained  on  the  affidavits  of  her  relatives 
that  it  was  the  widow's  own  desire,  and  that  no  un- 
due means  had  been  used  to  influence  her.  This  was 
supposed  to  be  an  effectual  mode  of  at  least  dimin- 
ishing the  numbers  of  Suttees;  on  the  contrary,  it 
increased  them.  The  priests  flourished  the  permit 
in  the  faces  of  the  people,  saying,  'See  here,  the 
Government  recognizes  the  rite,  it  has  given  a  token 
(Hookum)  for  its  performance.'  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances a  strong  appeal  was  again  made  to  Lord 
Hastings,  after  my  departure  from  India,  and  it 
was  proved  to  him,  that  since  the  first  appeal  in 
1804,  seventy  thousand  widows  had  been  burnt  alive 
in  India.  These  statements  may,  at  this  day,  appear 
incredible,  but  they  are  matters  of  fact,  and  of  rec- 
ord, and  facts  are  stubborn  things.  It  is  also  a  fact, 
that  shortly  after  the  abolition  of  Sutteeism,  a  large 
body  of  the  Priests  and  others  waited  upon  the  Gov- 
ernor, to  thank  him  for  his  action  in  doing  away 
with  so  abhorrent  a  rite.  His  Lordship  replied,  by 
congratulating  them  on  the  change  in  the  minds  of 
the  priesthood,  and  on  the  spread  of  more  liberal 


80  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

and    enlightened   ideas    among    the   people;    he   re- 
minded them  that  only  twenty  years  before  Lord 
Wellesly  had  desired  to  abolish  Sutteeism,  but  had 
been   strongly   opposed   by   their   predecessors,   who 
had  insisted  that  it  was  a  sacred  rite,  which  had  been 
observed  from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  and  that, 
moreover,  its  observance  had  been  secured  to  them, 
along  with  that  of  their  other  religious  rites  and 
ceremonies.     This  was  the  end  of  at  least  the  public 
practice  of  burning  widows  alive.     It  was,   and  is 
still,  the  custom   among  the  natives  of  the  upper 
country  to  throw  the  bodies  of  their  dead  into  the 
sacred  river,  where,  after  a  few   hours,  decomposi- 
tion takes  place,  they  float  on  the  surface  and  are 
brought  down  past   Calcutta,  by  the  current;    the 
head  and  feet  being  under  water,  and  the  trunk  ex- 
posed,   generally   with   two   or   more   carrion   crows 
seated  upon  it.     Frequently,  the  bodies  are  washed 
ashore,  when  they  are  immediately  attacked  by  the 
vultures  and  adjutants.     The  vultures  seem  to  at- 
tack the  muscular  parts  and  the  adjutants  seem  to 
prefer  the  viscera.     It  was  curious  and  interesting 
to  observe  the  habits  and  motions  of  these  obscene 
birds.     On    opening    the    abdomen,  which    he    did 
very  adroitly,  the  adjutant  would  seize  hold  of  the 
end  of  the  intestine,  and  then  half  skipping  and  half 
flying   along   the   ground,   would    turn   round    and 
gobble  up  the  intestine,  as  he  returned  to  the  body. 
As  the  ships  lay  off  the  different  Ghants,  the  bodies 
frequently   got   across   the    cables,    or   the    vessel's 
bows,  a  dingie-wallah  was  stationed  at  each  Ghant, 


A  YEAR  IN  INDIA  81 

whose  sole  duty  it  was  to  clear  the  bodies  and  pass 
them  on." 

So  much  for  1821 !  The  Government  surely  de- 
serves some  credit  for  the  change  which  has  taken 
place  since  then. 

In  order  to  secure  a  permanent  appointment  in 
the  company's  service,  he  returned  to  England  in 
1823  as  surgeon  of  the  East  Indiaman  "Competitor." 
He  ends  his  Journal  by  a  short  account  of  his  return 
voyage : 

"It  having  been  decided  some  years  before,  that 
I  should  receive  an  appointment  as  surgeon  in  the 
Company's  service,  and  as  this  appointment  could 
only  be  given  by  the  Court  of  Directors,  it  was 
necessary  that  I  should  return  home  for  the  purpose 
of  receiving  it.  I  certainly  could  have  received  em- 
ployment in  India,  under  what  was  termed  a  Free 
Mariner's  Indenture,  but  as  this  would  not  insure 
promotion  or  rank,  I  was  advised  not  to  accept  it, 
but  to  return  to  England  for  the  appointment  from 
the  Directors.  As  the  ship  'Competitor'  had  lost 
her  surgeon,  I  was  offered  a  very  handsome  sum  to 
do  the  medical  duties  on  the  passage  to  London. 

"After  leaving  Calcutta,  the  vessel  remained  some 
days  at  Saugor  Island  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ganges, 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  in  stores,  and  filling  up  the 
full  complement  of  the  crew ;  this  was  effected  by  the 
Government  schooner  bringing  down  some  deserters, 
and  several  seamen  who  had  been  left  in  hospital,  from 
different  ships.  This,  in  my  opinion  was  unwise, 
as  the  cholera  was  then  prevailing  in  Calcutta; 
without  going  into  the  question  of  the  mode  of  trans- 


82  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

mission  of  cholera,  I  have  merely  to  state,  that  on  the 
tenth  day  after  the  ship  left  the  anchorage  at  Sau- 
gor  Island,  the  Asiatic  cholera  broke  out  on  board, 
and  during  the  ensuing  ten  days  there  were  several 
cases,  of  whom  two  died.  During  my  connection 
with  the  Hospital  at  Dum  Dum,  I  saw  several  cases, 
and  was  told  by  my  uncle  Dr.  Mellis,  that  it  was  a 
specific  disease  of  the  country,  and  that  its  intensity 
varied  at  different  times  and  seasons.  Among  the 
medical  men  of  the  Presidency,  there  were  different 
opinions,  as  well  as  to  its  nature,  as  to  its  treatment. 
I  followed  the  treatment  adopted  at  the  Hospital  at 
Dum  Dum.  After  a  somewhat  tedious,  but  extremely 
pleasant  passage,  we  arrived  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope;  and  as  the  ship  'Competitor'  had  to  discharge 
and  to  take  in  eargoe,  our  stay  in  Table  Bay  was  pro- 
tracted to  nearly  a  month.  During  this  period,  I 
enjoyed  myself  exceedingly  in  visits  and  excursions 
to  places  of  interest  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  in 
social  intercourse  with  the  Missionaries,  and  with  their 
families,  and  with  some  Dutch  families,  with  whom  I 
had  become  acquainted. 

"The  Cape  and  its  dependencies  had  been  taken 
from  the  Dutch  about  eighteen  years  before;  the 
Caucasian  inhabitants  in  the  Colony  were  almost  ex- 
clusively Dutch,  and  they  formed  the  great  majority 
of  those  in  Cape  Town.  The  English  were  compara- 
tively few  in  number,  and  consisted  principally  of 
Government  officials  and  of  a  very  few  merchants. 
The  Missionary  field  was  occupied  by  Mr.  Moffat 
(father-in-law  of  Dr.  Livingston)  and  by  Mr.  Hodg- 
son, the  former  representing  the  London  Missionary 


A  YEAR  IN  INDIA  83 

Society,  and  the  latter  the  Wesleyan  Methodists.  To 
Mr.  Hodson  in  particular,  I  was  greatly  indebted 
for  much  valuable  information  and  guidance  in  my 
excursions  from  Cape  Town  into  the  country. 

"I  did  not  find  the  Dutch  Boers,  whom  I  met  in 
my  rambles  very  amiable  or  communicative,  they 
had  evidently  not  become  accustomed  to  Englishmen, 
or  to  English  rule  and  occupation,  which  then  had 
only  existed  in  the  Colony  about  sixteen  years. 
Those  within  reach  of  my  excursions  seemed  to  de- 
vote themselves  principally  to  the  cultivation  of  the 
grape-vine. 

"After  a  pleasant  run  through  the  Southern  trade 
winds,  we  reached  Ascension  Island." 

I  have  quoted  already  his  account  of  change  which 
in  the  interval  had  been  wrought  on  the  island. 

"After  taking  some  turtle,  we  continued  our 
passage  to  London,  where  we  arrived  without  stop- 
page, and  without  any  occurrence  on  board,  worth 
mentioning.  I  parted  from  the  ship's  officers  and  the 
passengers  with  regret. ' ' 

He  did  not  take  service  under  the  East  India  Com- 
pany, as  will  be  told  in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  IV 

IN    MEDICAL    CHARGE    OP    THE    POTAIS    SETTLEMENT    ON 
THE   COAST    OP    HONDURAS 

His  next  professional  engagement  determined  the 
drift  of  his  future  life.  It  carried  him  to  the  "West- 
ern Hemisphere,  though  far  from  the  scene  of  his 
ultimate  professional  career.  He  was  tempted  by 
salary  and  love  of  adventure  to  join  one  of  the  many 
colonization  projects,  which  were  organized  by  pro- 
moters who  took  advantage,  in  furthering  their 
schemes,  of  the  enthusiasm  excited  by  the  struggle 
between  her  American  colonies  and  Spain.  Many 
Britons  beside  Lord  Cochrane  were  enlisted  in  the 
ranks  of  the  revolutionists.  One  of  the  lesser  nota- 
bles was  a  Scotchman  called  The  MacGregor,  who 
claimed  to  be  the  chief  of  the  clan  Alpin,  or  Gregor, 
to  be  descended  from  the  ancient  kings  of  Scotland 
and  entitled  to  prefix  Sir  to  his  name. 

Sir  Gregor  McGregor  was  the  grandson  of  the 
McGregor  who  was  brought  from  Scotland  in  the 
reign  of  George  II.  as  a  sample  of  a  real  High- 
lander who  could  handle  the  claymore.  He  and  his 
son  received  commissions  in  the  British  Army. 


86  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

The  grandson  was  an  adventurer,  but  not  in  the 
worst  sense  of  the  word.  He  went  to  Caracas  in 
1811  and  married  a  native,  a  niece  of  Bolivar,  but 
what  property  he  or  she  had  was  wrecked  in  the 
earthquake  of  1812.  When  the  first  revolution  broke 
out  in  1812  he  joined  the  revolutionists  and  was  at- 
tached to  the  staff  of  General  Miranda  as  colonel 
and  adjutant  general.  He  subsequently  distin- 
guished himself  as  a  cavalry  officer  and  became  a 
general  of  brigade. 

The  anonymous  South  American  who  wrote  the 
Outline  of  the  Revolution  in  Spanish  America  says 
of  Sir  Gregor  McGregor  that  "He  was  a  Scotchman 
who  served  in  the  British  Army  in  Portugal  and  had 
been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain.  In  conse- 
quence of  some  misunderstanding  with  a  superior 
officer  he  quitted  the  British  Army  and  went  to 
Caracas  in  1811.  After  the  earthquake  he  served 
in  the  army  of  Venezuela,  which  in  the  engagement 
of  Los  Guayos  suffered  considerably  under  his  com- 
mand. After  Miranda's  capitulation  Sir  Gregor 
went  to  Carthagena,  and  from  that  time  he  has  uni- 
formly supported  the  independent  cause. 

"The  victorious  royalists  pursued  him  furiously 
after  the  defeat  of  Bolivar,  and  such  was  their  de- 
pendence on  continued  success  that  they  even  sent 
official  information  to  Caracas  that  McGregor  was 
totally  defeated,  killed,  and  the  soldier  was  named 
who  had  spoiled  him  of  his  uniform  in  the  field  of 
battle." 

According  to  the  sketch  of  his  life  in  the  National 
Biography,  he  showed  military  skill  in  the  retreat 


IN  CHARGE  OF  POYAIS  SETTLEMENT    87 

from  Ocumare  to  Barcelona  and  in  the  battle  of 
Juncal  and  other  engagements.  In  1817  he  was 
promoted  to  the  command  of  a  division  and  re- 
ceived the  Order  of  the  Libertadoris. 

His  next  adventure  was  a  filibustering  expedition 
against  East  Florida.  He  seized  the  Island  of  Ame- 
lia, but  gained  neither  wealth  nor  glory. 

In  an  interesting  book  entitled,  Narrative  of  a  Voy- 
age to  the  Spanish  Main  in  the  Ship  "Two  Friends;" 
is  told  the  story,  by  one  of  the  members  of  the  Amelia 
Expedition.  He  had  joined  a  filibustering  expedition 
in  aid  of  Venezuelan  independence,  but  abandoned  it 
at  St.  Thomas  to  engage  in  the  more  promising  ven- 
ture by  McGregor  against  Amelia  Island.  At  the 
time  the  Island  belonged  nominally  to  Spain,  as  a 
part  of  East  Florida.  These  filibustering  expeditions 
were  not  always  looked  upon  very  unfavorably  by 
the  United  States  Government,  provided  they  were 
not  organized  with  any  unfriendly  motive.  The  author 
says  (pages  85-97)  : 

"McGregor,  disgusted  with  the  system  pursued  by  Gen- 
eral Bolivar  (whose  niece  he  had  married),  foreseeing  from 
the  disunion  of  the  insurgent  chiefs  of  Venezuela,  and  the 
little  confidence  they  inspired  in  the  respectable  and  en- 
lightened class  of  society  in  that  division  of  Spanish  Amer- 
ica, the  present  ruin  of  the  popular  cause,  and  the  remote 
possibility  of  its  recovery,  quitted  the  patriot  service  on  the 
main,  and  directed  his  attention  to  the  United  States,  with 
whose  views  upon  the  Spanish  provinces  of  the  Floridas,  he 
was  well  acquainted;  and  assured  by  their  emissaries  that  a 
descent  upon  them  from  the  union  would  not  be  opposed  by 
the  executive  of  that  government. 

"Having  collected  several  adventurers  to  his  standard  in 
the  northern  states,  and  raised  some  funds  for  his  enterprise, 


88  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

he  proceeded  to  Charleston;  here  numbers  of  respectable  young 
men,  who  had  imbibed  a  military  spirit  during  the  war  with 
Great  Britain,  and  were  thrown  out  of  employment  by  its 
termination,  readily  tendered  their  aid  and  assistance;  but 
the  impolitic  expression  of  his  feelings  in  favour  of  negro 
emancipation,  deemed  a  species  of  political  heresy  in  the 
slave  states,  joined  to  his  arbitrary  and  unconciliating  con- 
duct, soon  detached  them  from  his  cause,  and  obliged  Mc- 
Gregor to  seek  for  succour  and  assistance  in  the  more  en- 
terprising and  less   scrupulous  community  of  Savannah. 

"The  mercantile  establishment  of  C.  and  Co.,  of  that  city, 
relying  upon  the  successful  issue  of  McGregor's  expedition, 
purchased  of  his  anticipated  conquest  over  the  Province  of 
East  Florida,  30,000  acres  of  land,  at  one  dollar  per  acre, 
and  induced  several  of  their  friends  to  contribute  to  his 
support. 

"With  these  supplies,  and  the  remnant  of  his  associates,  in 
all  about  150,  McGregor  concentrated  at  the  entrance  of  the 
river  Altamaha,  in  Georgia,  on  which  stands  the  flourishing 
settlement  of  Darien.  Much  time  was  consumed  in  the 
equipment  of  his  forces,  and  numerous  defections  led  to  the 
further  diminution  of  his  partisans.     .     .     . 

"The  expedition  being  at  length  in  a  sufficient  state  of  for- 
wardness to  undertake  its  object,  a  partner  in  the  house  of 
C.  and  Co.  already  the  holder  of  some  landed  property  in 
Amelia,  with  the  view  of  anticipating  events,  preceded  them 
to  that  island,  and  by  representing  to  the  inhabitants  a 
magnified  and  fabulous  account  of  McGregor's  forces,  who 
he  described  as  1000  strong,  and  every  way  equipped  to  se- 
cure their  objects,  prepared  their  minds  to  forego  its  defence, 
and  to  lessen  the  confidence  of  the  Spanish  commandant  in 
the  means  of  resistance. 

"On  tbe  9th  of  July,  the  little  band  of  McGregor,  attended 
by  two  schooners  and  a  few  row  boats,  passing  the  shores  of 
Cumberland  island,  at  the  entrance  of  the  river  St.  Mary's 
anchored  in  the  Spanish  waters  of  Amelia,  disembarking  in 
all  about  sixty  muskets,  under  the  very  guns  of  the  fort  of 
Fernandina,  and  two  block  houses  intended  as  a  defence  for 
the  rear  of  the  town.     McGregor,  assisted  by  Colonel  Posen, 


IN  CHARGE  OF  POYAIS  SETTLEMENT    89 

of  the  United  States  Army,  as  second  in  command,  led  his 
little  band  over  a  swamp,  which  divided  the  point  of  debarka- 
tion from  the  town,  plunged  up  to  their  knees  in  mud,  ex- 
posed to  the  means  possessed  by  the  Spaniards  of  totally  an- 
nihilating them.  To  the  cowardice  of  the  Spanish  com- 
mandant, and  not  to  the  talents  of  McGregor,  must  be  at- 
tributed their  success;  for  in  this,  the  latter  displayed  an 
excess  of  folly  in  exposing  his  troops  to  the  possible  hos- 
tility of  the  garrison,  which  did  not,  as  it  happened,  offer  a 
single  coup  de  canon  of  resistance  from  the  fort,  and  only 
one  gun  was  fired  from  the  block  house,  and  that  without 
the  orders  of  the  commandant. 

"Possession  of  the  fort  and  town  being  thus  easily  obtained, 
the    prisoners    were    immediately    sent    to    the    main    land. 

"McGregor  feeling  himself  firmly  seated  in  his  conquest, 
and  acquiring  daily  some  addition  to  his  forces,  began  to  ar- 
range the  system  upon  which  its  extension  over  the  whole 
of  the  Floridas  was  to  be  founded;  invited  the  insurgent 
privateers  to  make  the  Island  of  Amelia  the  depot  of  their 
prizes,  and  the  vent  of  their  cargoes.  This  acquisition  of  a 
port  upon  the  Atlantic,  and  so  near  to  the  United  States, 
was  an  object  of  the  last  importance  to  those  swarms  of 
Buccaneers  who  infest  that  ocean,  and  the  islands  of  the 
West  Indies,  under  the  various  flags  of  the  republics  of  Mex- 
ico, Buenos  Ayres,  Venezuela,  and  others;  who  thereby 
avoided  the  danger  and  delay  attending  the  carrying  of  their 
captures  through  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Spanish  Main, 
or  to  Galveston  at  the  entrance  of  the  river  Trinity,  where 
Lafite  and  his  piratical  gang  had  established  a  similar  depot. 
Upon  the  cargoes  of  these  prizes,  the  government  of  Amelia 
levied  an  impost  of  sixteen  and  a  half  per  cent,  upon  the 
gross  amount  of  sales,  together  with  charges  of  admiralty 
courts,  etc.,  for  the  current  expenses  of  the  establishment, 
and  for  the  purpose  of  replenishing  their  military  chest,  al- 
ready too  much  exhausted  to  warrant  a  further  progress 
in  their  meditated  conquest  of  the  provinces;  the  important 
prelude  to  which  was  the  reduction  of  the  fortress  of  St. 
Augustine,  the  seat  of  the  government  of  East  Florida,  de- 


90  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

fended  by  a  brave  and  tried  soldier,  Colonel  Coppinger,  whose 
loyalty  to  his  sovereign  was  unquestionable.  This  subject 
occupied  their  attention,   claiming  the  utmost  consideration. 

"The  fiscal  system  of  the  occupiers  of  Amelia  still  lingered 
in  poverty,  and  their  resources,  both  in  men  and  money,  were 
as  yet  unequal  to  any  enterprise  beyond  the  walls  of  their 
garrison;  various  were  the  means  suggested,  and  as  often 
found  fruitless  in  their  attempts,  to  raise  the  consequence  of 
their  establishment,  and  the  importance  of  their  contemplated 
acquisitions.  The  people  of  the  United  States,  shrewd  though 
speculative,  seeing  no  immediate  prospect  of  gain,  and  doubt- 
ful of  the  capacity  of  those  at  Amelia  to  obtain  any  serious 
and  valuable  results  to  their  enterprise,  withheld  the  prom- 
ised assistance,  and  denied  even  to  furnish  them  with  the 
funds  already  raised  for  their  necessities. 

"In  the  midst  of  this  desolation,  threatened  with  bank- 
ruptcy in  their  finances,  and  destruction  to  their  plans,  Col- 
onel Irvin,  formerly  an  officer  in  the  American  Militia,  and  a 
member  of  Congress  for  the  State  of  Vermont,  who  had  been 
appointed  Adjutant- General,  succeeding  the  retirement  of 
Colonel  Posen,  was  created  chief  of  the  Amelian  treasury,  and 
in  that  character  issued  notes  negotiable  upon  the  faith  of 
the  government.  This  experiment  for  a  time  supported  their 
tottering  credit,  though  it  did  not  meet  the  ensuing  difficulties. 

"Their  financial  embarrassments  however  began  to  throw 
discredit  upon  McGregor's  party,  and  the  people  of  the 
neighboring  state  of  Georgia,  who  supplied  the  garrison  with 
provisions,  etc.,  grew  impatient  under  the  factitious  mode  of 
payment,  and  at  length  positively  refused  to  furnish  rations 
unless  paid  for  in  specie.  Private  loans  were  then  resorted 
to,  and  every  expedient,  however  destructive,  seized  upon  to 
support   their   tottering   credit. 

"The  Spanish  governor  of  St.  Augustine,  apprised  of  every 
movement  of  the  Buccaneers,  waited  with  impatience  a  naval 
co-operation  which  had  been  promised  from  Havanna,  for  the 
purpose  of  destroying  these  intruders;  but  the  characteristic 
delay  of  Spanish  operations,  for  a  long  time  baffled  his  hopes 
and  lessened  his  confidence  in  their  aid.     This  gentleman,  the 


IN  CHARGE  OF  POYAIS  SETTLEMENT    91 

son  of  an  Irishman,  inheriting  the  gallantry  of  his  paternal 
ancestry,  who  had  rendered  himself,  while  a  subaltern,  con- 
spicuous in  the  Peninsula,  tired  at  length  by  unavailing 
remonstrances  to  the  Captain  General  Cienfugas,  and  feeling 
ashamed  that  McGregor's  trifling  force  should  so  long 
profane  the  province  under  his  command,  ordered  the  small 
detachment  of  black  troops  in  garrison,  and  the  militia  of 
the  province,  to  advance  against  Amelia  Island,  supported 
by  a  few  boats  with  light  artillery,  through  the  narrow  chan- 
nels which  separate  the  islands  of  Talbot,  Nassau  and 
Amelia  from  the  main  land.  The  whole  consisting  of  about 
three  hundred,  including  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  militia. 
This  force,  ample  for  its  object,  was  confided  to  the  command 
of  an  officer  of  the  garrison  who  held  the  rank  of  major 
in  the  royal  regiment  of  Cuba.  .  .  .  These  forces  advanced 
apparently  unobserved  to  within  the  range  of  the  guns  of 
the  fort  of  Fernandina,  and  were  screened  by  an  elevation 
called  McClure's  hill.  It  had  been  preconcerted  between  the 
naval  and  military  commanders  of  the  expedition  that  a  rocket 
from  the  former  should  direct  their  mutual  advance,  and  the 
troops  were  anxiously  waiting  for  the  signal,  when  the  guns 
of  Amelia,  and  those  of  the  Morgiana  Buenos  Ayres  gun 
brig,  and  other  privateers,  opened  their  fire  upon  the  boats, 
and  threw  their  shot  over  the  hill  among  the  troops;  two 
of  whom  were  killed  and  several  wounded.  The  commander, 
panic  struck  at  this  unexpected  salutation,  instead  of  advanc- 
ing under  cover  of  the  night,  and  through  the  obscurity  of 
the  woods  in  the  rear  of  the  town,  where  the  insurgents  had 
made  no  preparation  for  resistance,  and  where  he  would  have 
been  out  of  the  range  of  the  fire  from  the  ships,  immediately 
sounded  a  retreat,  in  spite  of  the  remonstrances  and  entreaties 
of  the  officers  about  him,  who  were  maddened  by  his  pusil- 
lanimity, and  who  relied  with  confidence  upon  the  courage  and 
devotion   of   the   troops.     ... 

"The  situation  of  McGregor's  government  had  become  ex- 
tremely critical,  and  the  want  of  unanimity  among  the 
parties  threatened  with  political  suicide  this  ill-arranged 
oligarchy,  when  the  arrival  of  Commodore  Aury,  under  the 
united  flags  of   the   republics   of  Mexico   and  Venezuela,   in 


92  MY  FATHEK'S  JOURNAL 

the  brig  TVlexico-libre,'  accompanied  by  several  prizes,  gave 
a  new  character  to  the  occupiers  of  Amelia  Island.  This 
adventurer  had  for  some  time  committed  depredations  upon  the 
Spanish  trade  in  the  Gulph  of  Mexico,  and  when  unable  to 
meet  with  prizes  of  that  nation,  felt  no  repugnance  at  levy- 
ing contributions  upon  those  of  other  flags;  hearing  of  the 
settlement  of  McGregor  at  Amelia,  and  aware  of  the  superiority 
of  the  situation  as  a  naval  depot,  entered  with  his  prizes  the 
harbour  of  Fernandina,  amounting  to  the  value  of  sixty  thou- 
sand dollars.  This  arrival  resuscitated  the  torpid  faculties 
of  the  intruders,  and  animated  their  exhausted  credit. 

"McGregor  sick  of  the  scenes,  and  fatigued  by  the  vacillat- 
ing character  of  those  around  him,  determined  to  withdraw 
from  his  conquest,  proposed  an  arrangement  for  that  pur- 
pose with  Aury,  who  undertook  to  pay  off  the  debts  of  the 
Amelian  treasury,  amounting  to  near  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
A  Mr.  Hubbard,  formerly  sheriff  of  New  York,  an  American 
citizen,  had  divided  with  McGregor  the  empire  of  Amelia, 
holding  the  office  of  civil  governor,  while  the  latter  possessed 
the  supreme  military  command.  This  latter  capacity  was 
in  consequence  of  the  arrangement,  assigned  to  Commodore 
Aury,  who  was  recognized  by  the  authorities  of  the  Island, 
and  landed  his  followers,  the  refuse  of  all  nations,  and  all 
colours,  collected  from  the  mass  of  iniquity  spread  over  the 
islands  of  the  West  Indies  and  the  Spanish  Americas. 

"McGregor,  upon  the  completion  of  his  agreement  with 
Aury,  retired  to  the  Bahamas,  and  many  of  his  followers 
(the  most  respectable)  abandoned  the  cause  of  the  In- 
surgents."    .  .  . 

The  incident  is  illustrative  of  the  curious  laxity  of 
morals  which  results  from  revolutions,  and  of  the 
irresponsible  character  of  McGregor. 

It  was  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  United  States 
annexed  before  the  close  of  1817  this  nest  of  smugglers 
and  pirates,  nor  that  Aury  and  his  valiant  followers 
replied  to  the  summons  to  surrender  with  many  words 
and  few  shots.     Sir  Gregor  McGregor  gave  justifica- 


IN  CHARGE  OF  POYAIS  SETTLEMENT    93 

tion  for  the  act  of  absorption  (if  such  justification  was 
necessary)  by  the  avowal  in  his  proclamation  that 
his  ultimate  project  was  to  conquer  the  two  Floridas. 

Sir  Gregor's  next  venture  was  an  expedition 
against  Porto  Bello  with  the  double  object  of  seiz- 
ing the  town  in  the  interest  of  the  revolutionists  and 
capturing  a  Spanish  treasure  ship.  His  partners 
enlisted  a  crew  of  ruffians  in  England,  eluded  the 
authorities  there  and  in  Jamaica,  was  joined  by 
McGregor  in  the  Spanish  Main,  took  Porto  Bello, 
just  missed  the  galleon,  but  found  enough  liquor  in 
the  town  to  get  so  drunk  that  the  defeated  royalists 
dispatched  most  of  them.  McGregor  himself  es- 
caped through  the  window  of  his  quarters  to  the 
harbor  and  swam  aboard  his  ship.  He  was  wrecked 
off  Cape  Gracios  a  Dios,  on  the  coast  of  Honduras, 
and,  like  the  enterprising  genius  that  he  was,  in- 
gratiated himself  with  a  native  chief,  whom  the 
British  had  dubbed  King  of  the  Mosquito  Nation, 
and  obtained  from  him  a  grant  of  some  50,000,000 
acres,  or  76,000  square  miles,  to  which  the  King  had 
no  real  title.  He  agreed  to  colonize  it,  and  he  as- 
sumed the  title  of  Cazique  of  Poyais. 

Before  going  to  England  with  his  scheme  he 
claimed  to  have  inaugurated  a  settlement,  opened  a 
bank  and  organized  an  army,  in  which  a  certain 
Thomas  Strangeway,  K.  G.  C,  was  captain  of  the 
native  Poyais  regiment,  as  well  as  aide  de  camp  to 
His  Highness  McGregor.  The  said  Strangeway  be- 
came his  advertising  agent  and  wrote  a  Sketch  of 
the  Mosquito  Shore,  published  by  Blackwood,  1822, 
as  a  bait  to  lure  the  public  into  the  net  which  was 


94  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

being  cast  for  them.  The  book  was  a  compilation  of 
the  most  glowing  descriptions  of  the  agricultural 
possibilities  of  the  West  Indies,  transferred,  without 
acknowledgment,  to  the  swamp  lands  of  the  Hondu- 
ras coast. 

McGregor  left  Honduras  in  1821  to  transplant  an 
English  colony  to  the  Mosquito  shore.  But  before 
leaving  Honduras  he  issued  a  proclamation,  dated 
Rio  Leco,  April  13,  1821,  stating  that  he  was  sail- 
ing for  Europe  "for  the  purpose  of  securing  religi- 
ous and  moral  instructors,  the  implements  of  hus- 
bandry, and  persons  to  assist  in  the  cultivation  of 
the  soil."  He  very  particularly  asserts  that  "no 
person  but  the  honest  and  industrious  shall  find  an 
asylum  in  the  Territory." 

Among  the  books  intended  to  draw  attention  to  the 
scheme  was  a  publication  by  Blackwood  in  the  same 
year  of  an  old  manuscript  by  Col.  Robert  Hodgson, 
written  in  1757.  It  seems  that  the  colonel  took  pos- 
session of  the  Mosquito  shore  in  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  as  superintendent  and  agent  of 
the  Governor  of  Jamaica,  of  which  colony  it  was, 
a  dependency.  He  formed  settlements  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  Black  River  and  in  Bluefields.  He  does 
not  give  the  number  of  original  settlers,  but  admits 
that  they  diminished  instead  of  increasing— "were 
mostly  traders  with  their  dependents  and  lived  scat- 
tered." He  says  there  were  on  the  coast  133  white 
men,  16  white  women  and  5  children,  170  mulattoes 
and  mestizos,  92  Indian  and  negro  slaves. 

The  colonel  was  succeeded  by  his  son.  It  was 
claimed  that  as  the  Mosquito  Indians  had  never  sub- 


IN  CHARGE  OF  POYAIS  SETTLEMENT    95 

mitted  to  Spain  their  country  was  unoccupied  terri- 
tory. Nevertheless  it  was  recognized  as  Spanish 
territory  by  the  treaty  of  1783  and  was  vacated  by 
the  British  in  1786.  The  treaty,  however,  recog- 
nized the  right  of  England  to  cut  logs  between  the 
River  Waller,  or  Balize,  and  the  Rio  Hondo,  and 
from  the  sea  to  the  New  River  Lake,  ''without  dero- 
gating from  his  Catholic  Majesty's  right  of  sover- 
eignty." The  limits  for  log  cutting  were  extended 
in  1786,  but  without  waiver  of  any  rights  of  sov- 
ereignty by  Spain.  The  Poyais  country  was  included 
in  this  strip. 

The  British  interest  in  Honduras  in  the  eighteenth 
century  was  created  by  the  growing  preference  for 
mahogany  over  walnut  in  the  manufacture  of  furni- 
ture, which  sprung  up  after  1715  and  was  stimu- 
lated by  the  reduction  in  duties  by  "Walpole,  who 
used  it  in  the  decoration  of  his  palace  at  Houghton. 
And  the  white  population  of  the  first  settlements  in 
Poyais  evidently  consisted  not  of  agriculturists,  but 
of  settlers  who  traded  in  the  wants  and  vices  of  the 
mahogany  and  logwood  cutters.  (Hal dam  Macfall 
in  the  Connoisseur,  1809,  page  190a.)  But  Mc- 
Gregor's expedition  aimed  at  really  subsisting  on 
agriculture. 

It  was  the  Duke  of  Albemarle,  when  Governor  of 
Jamaica,  who  went  through  the  farce  of  investing 
one  of  the  Indians  with  a  commission  as  King  of  the 
Mosquitos,  under  the  protection  of  England,  by  a 
ceremony  which  was  continued  long  afterwards  by 
his  successor,  as  told  in  my  father's  Journal. 


96  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

Strangeway 's  book  and  statement  and  the  Poyais 
scheme  did  not  go  unchallenged.  The  Quarterly 
Review  of  October,  1822,  administered  a  scathing 
castigation  to  the  impudent  author  with  his  fictitious 
titles,  calling  the  financial  end  of  it  "loan  jobbery" 
and  the  land  selling  "land  jobbery,"  and  holding  up 
the  whole  project  to  derision.  The  Review  exposed 
the  palpable  confusion  which  the  project  offered  of 
"interest  with  principal  and  prices  with  commodi- 
ties." Strangeway,  under  the  pseudonym  of  Veras, 
answered  in  a  pamphlet,  admitting  the  shallowness 
of  the  McGregor  title,  explaining  that  McGregor  was 
negotiating  with  the  Spanish  Government  to  secure 
its  confirmation,  and  arguing  that  the  strip  of  terri- 
tory, with  its  access  through  the  San  Juan  River  to 
the  Lake  of  Nicaragua,  was  of  such  prospective  value 
to  Great  Britain  as  a  canal  route  that  the  Govern- 
ment should  seriously  consider  its  acquisition.  This 
was  true,  but  not  to  the  point! 

Sir  Gregor  succeeded  in  raising  money  in  England 
on  his  shadowy  land  titles  and  his  false  statements. 
One  of  his  dupes  was  my  father,  though  he  would 
not  charge  McGregor  with  fraud,  but  was  inclined 
to  attribute  the  terrible  failure  of  the  scheme  to  the 
mismanagement  of  the  company. 

"What  happened  when  the  unfortunate  colonists 
were  dumped  on  the  swamp  lands  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Black  River  is  better  told  by  him  than  by  any 
of  the  survivors,  and  is  a  fragment  of  history  worth 
preserving. 

How  the  unfortunates  were  rescued  and  cared  for 
in  Balize  we  learn  from  an  official  investigation  or- 


IN  CHARGE  OF  POYAIS  SETTLEMENT    97 

dered  by  Earl  Bathurst  in  1824.  It  resulted  from  a 
petition  made  to  the  Secretary  of  State  by  W.  J. 
Richardson  and  five  other  merchant  sufferers,  who 
claimed  that  Marshall  Bennett  and  other  magis- 
trates at  Balize,  with  the  connivance  of  the  superin- 
tendent at  Balize,  had  removed  £30,000  of  goods  and 
stores  from  Poyais  in  the  previous  year  in  the 
schooner  "The  Mexican  Eagle,"  and  had  by  force  and 
persuasion  carried  off  settlers  whom  they  (the  peti- 
tioners) had  at  great  expense  conveyed  thither.  The 
complaint  was  accompanied  by  a  pamphlet,  The  Ba- 
lize Merchants  Unmasked,  by  a  certain  G.  A.  Low, 
one  of  McGregor's  agents. 

The  resulting  Proceedings  of  an  Enquiry  and  In- 
vestigation oy  Major  General  Godd,  His  Majesty's 
Superintendent  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  Balize, 
Honduras,  Belative  to  Poyais,  is  an  interesting  docu- 
ment. 

The  first  witness  heard  was  Marshall  Bennett.  He 
seems  to  have  been  chief  justice  also  of  the  Balize 
settlement.  He  testified  that  in  April,  1823,  he  was 
sent  to  the  Black  River  with  the  King's  annual 
present  and  to  gather  information  as  to  the  settle- 
ment. He  found  disorganization  and  sickness  and 
the  settlers  anxious  that  he  should  remove  them. 
Having  no  authority,  he  refused.  But  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Hall,  arriving  on  May  6th,  gave  him  the 
requisite  authority,  and  he  received  on  board  sixty- 
six  individuals,  all  but  three  sick  with  fever.  In 
Balize  he  got  permission  from  His  Majesty's  super- 
intendent to  remove  the  other  settlers,  and  his 
schooner,  "The  Mexican  Eagle,"  was  chartered  for 


98  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

the  purpose.  It  made  several  trips  in  rescuing  them 
and  removing  the  stores.  These  were  accommodated 
in  Bennett's  warehouse.  Some  were  used  to  feed  the 
settlers  while  in  Balize  and  some  to  supply  pro- 
visions to  the  few  who  were  shipped  back  to  Eng- 
land; and  as  the  stores  were  rapidly  spoiling  the  bal- 
lance  was  sold  by  public  auction  and  brought 
£943.18.9. 

Thomas  Pickstock  testified  as  to  the  arrival  of  the 
colonists  in  Balize  in  a  deplorable  condition,  and 
that  a  committee  of  citizens  was  appointed  to  "su- 
perintend and  regulate  the  charity  of  public  and 
private  funds  for  the  relief  of  the  unfortunate  peo- 
ple." The  committee  consisted,  among  others,  of 
Dr.  Johnson,  assistant  staff  surgeon,  and  Lieutenant 
Brown  Williams,  of  the  Royal  Artillery.  They  hired 
the  following  assistance: 

' '  One  nurse  at  6s  3d  and  another  at  5s,  one  steward 
at  10s  and  five  assistants  at  3s  4d  per  day ;  a  cook  at 
3s  4d  and  a  washerwoman  at  10s  a  week." 

The  hospital  was  too  small  to  accommodate  the 
sick,  so  the  women  and  children  were  removed  to  a 
large  chapel  and  the  remainder  quartered  on  the 
inhabitants. 

On  August  1st  forty-nine  orphans  and  widows 
were  shipped  back  to  England. 

The  witness  said  that  the  Balize  authorities  recog- 
nized the  difference  between  the  colonists  who  had 
come  out  as  servants  of  the  company  and  those  who 
had  come  out  as  independent  settlers.  They  hesi- 
tated to  assist  the  former  class  in  leaving  the  Black 
River. 


IN  CHAKGE  OF  POYAIS  SETTLEMENT    99 

Colonel  Hall  testifies:  ''In  addition  to  other  dis- 
tressing embarrassments  Dr.  Douglas,  the  surgeon  of 
the  settlement,  was  severely  attacked  by  fever." 
He  says:  "Dr.  Douglas  declared  his  intention  of 
proceeding  with  Mr.  Bennett  next  morning  to  Balize 
unless  he  received  his  arrears  of  pay.  His  stock  of 
medicines  he  stated  was  nearly  expended.  After 
a  short  interview  with  him  he  however  consented  to 
stay  a  short  time  longer."  Soon  after  he  received 
a  written  communication  from  Dr.  Douglas,  which 
he  produced: 
"To  Col.  HaU: 

"The  alarming  sickness  which  prevails  to  such  an 
extent  among  the  settlers  recently  landed  from  Eng- 
land requires  their  immediate  removal. 

"I  feel  myself  called  on  to  state  my  opinion  that 
should  such  removal  be  delayed,  the  most  fatal  con- 
sequences are  to  be  apprehended.  The  want  of  shel- 
ter, of  fresh  provisions,  of  good  water,  of  clothing 
and  the  privations  we  suffer  from  many  other  causes, 
preclude  any  reasonable  hope  of  improvement  dur- 
ing our  residence  here,  and  under  such  disadvan- 
tages the  approaching  wet  season  may  be  expected 
to  complete  our  destruction.  I  myself  from  severe 
indisposition  am  at  present  able  to  render  little  or 
no  assistance  to  the  sick;  the  stock  of  medicines 
brought  from  England  is  now  nearly  expended 
without  any  prospect  of  obtaining  another  supply. 
Under  these  circumstances  I  trust  you  will  see  the 
necessity  of  facilitating  our  immediate  removal. 
"I  am,  etc., 

"James  Douglas,  Surgeon." 


100  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

These  conditions,  "the  revocation  of  the  Poyais- 
ian  grant  by  the  King's  proclamation,  the  disor- 
derly conduct  of  the  greatest  part  of  the  settlers," 
led  to  their  removal. 

The  proclamation  of  the  Poyais  King  addressed  to 
Colonel  Hall  by  his  secretary,  Vanhes,  states  that  ' '  in 
consequence  of  General  McGregor  not  fulfilling  his  en- 
gagement with  His  Majesty,  His  Majesty  does  con- 
sider General  Sir  Gregor  McGregor  sending  any  per- 
son to  this  territory  to  be  null  and  void;  but  that 
the  persons  settling  there  at  present  have  His  Maj- 
esty's sanction,  as  long  as  they  behave  as  persons 
settling  for  the  benefit  of  trade,  and  that  they  have 
no  objection  to  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  His 
Majesty  and  to  conform  to  the  laws  of  the  kingdom." 

Hall,  in  a  letter  to  Major  of  Brigade  Henderson, 
states  that  the  number  of  settlers  was  about  200. 

The  proclamation  and  this  native  specimen  of 
diplomatic  correspondence  are  worth  reproducing: 

"I,  George  Frederic  Augustin  the  Second,  by  the 
Grace  of  God  King  of  the  Mosquito  Nation,  do  here- 
by decree  the  grant  of  land  given  to  Sir  Gregor 
McGregor  null  and  void,  he  not  having  fulfilled  his 
contract  with  me  agreeable  to  his  stipulation,  and 
having  contracted  a  debt  on  part  of  my  territory 
without  my  consent,  assuming  to  himself  the  title 
of  Cazique  of  Poyais,  declaring  the  aforesaid  grant 
to  be  an  independent  State. 

"Therefore  be  it  known  to  all  these  persons  pur- 
chasing lands  that  the  aforesaid  lands  shall  be  their 
lawful  property  after  being  signed  by  me;  that  all 
persons  holding  grants  of  land  will  make  their  claims 


IN  CHARGE  OF  POYAIS  SETTLEMENT  101 

by  the  first  of  January,  1824,  as  they  will  be  for- 
feited after  that  date,  and  all  grants  of  land  sold  by 
Sir  Gregor  McGregor  since  the  first  of  January, 
1823,  are  declared  null  and  void. 

"Given  under  my  hand  at  Cape  Gracios  a  Dios 
the  28th  day  of  March  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1823. 
"George  Frederic  Augustin, 
"King  of  the  Mosquito  Nation." 
"Col.  Hall,  Present 

"I,  George  Frederic  Augustin  the  2nd,  do  write 
to  decline  all  further  concerns  with  Sir  Gregor  Mc- 
Gregor or  any  of  his  representatives  respecting  the 
Poyais  Government,  as  the  Mosquito  Nation  knows 
no  such  government,  as  he,  Sir  Gregor  McGregor, 
has  not  fulfilled  his  stipulations  with  me,  and  any 
application  concerning  the  settlers  and  merchants 
must  be  made  to  the  Poyais  Government  or  to  the 
Grand  Cazique." 
"To  Col.  Hall: 

"Should    Col.  Hall    wish  to    have    an    interview 
with  me  respecting  any  private  business  of  his  own, 
I  am  ready  to  grant  it." 
"Sir: 

"I  commit  this  letter,  that  you  will  receive  from 
bearer  to  your  charge,  which  you  will  have  the  good- 
ness to  open  in  presence  of  all  the  settlers  at  Black 
River,  when  you  arrive  there. 

"George  Frederic  Augustin,  etc.,  etc. 

"Cape  Gracios  a  Dios,  April  5th." 

The  letter  to  be  read  the  settlers  is  as  follows : 

"George  Frederic  Augustin  the  2nd,  etc. 


102  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

"My  will  and  pleasure  is— I  have  guaranteed  to 
you  possession  of  all  the  lands  you  may  have  pur- 
chased at  Black  River  within  my  kingdom  from 
Gregor  McGregor  that  you  may  enjoy  the  same 
property  van  molested  you  have  purchased  from  him 
after  the  deeds  being  countersigned  by  me  and  prop- 
erly taking  the  oath  of  allegiance,  which  must  be 
done  by  the  1st  of  January,  1824. 

"Those  who  have  not  purchased  land  may  have 
it  for  25  cents  per  acre,  payable  in  5  years  in  money, 
goods  or  service;  but  the  laws  must  be  obeyed  and 
customs  for  any  deviation  from  the  same  will  end  in 
their  total  alienation  from  the  English  (to  whom 
otherwise  they  will  be  respected)  with  the  risk  of 
your  property  and  probably  your  lives. 

"I  will  give  a  constitution  to  the  Kingdom  as  well 
for  the  benefit  of  the  subjects  as  the  sovereign 
founded  upon  justice  and  free  of  all  persecution.' ' 

No  taxes  were  to  be  levied  for  a  year. 


Mr.  Hall,  in  writing  to  the  major  of  brigade  in  Hon- 
duras, asking  permission  that  Mr.  Bennett  may  re- 
move the  more  needy  of  the  settlers,  says  Captain 
Hedgecock,  of  the  Honduras  packet,  unlawfully  ap- 
propriated the  greater  part  of  the  provisions  and 
stores.  He  asserted  that  not  one-fourth  of  the  stores 
were  landed,  but  that  "Captain  Hedgecock  detained 
the  greater  part  to  satisfy  claims  against  Sir  Gregor 
McGregor,  as  head  of  the  government,  and  that  of 
the  Kennersley  Castle."  My  father  calls  the  cap- 
tain of  the  Honduras  packet  Hitchcock,  and  at- 
tributes his  leaving  with  most  of  the  provisions  to 


IN  CHARGE  OF  POYAIS  SETTLEMENT  103 

a  threatening  norther;  nevertheless,  when  Colonel 
Hall  went  to  Cape  Gracios  a  Dios  he  succeeded  in 
persuading  Captain  Hitchcock  to  part  with  medical 
stores  only,  and  he  refused  to  return  to  the  settle- 
ment. He  had  evidently  become  persuaded  of  the 
hopelessness  of  the  venture  and  uncertainty  of  being 
paid. 

The  date  of  the  Spanish  settlement,  whose  de- 
struction the  King  described  to  my  father,  corre- 
sponds closely  with  the  date  of  the  surrender  of  the 
coast  by  Great  Britain  to  Spain,  and  the  buildings 
were  probably  those  of  the  earlier  British  settlers. 

There  was  not  a  little  newspaper  criticism  of  the 
Poyais  scheme  after  its  failure.  The  Scots  Maga- 
zine of  September,  1823  (page  324),  contains  an 
article  on  the  credulity  of  mankind  as  illustrated  by 
the  fate  of  the  Poyais  emigrants.  The  writer  says: 
"The  emigrants  had  been  informed  that  they  would 
find  a  settlement  established.  They  found  three 
miserable  huts,  inhabited  by  three  or  four  Ameri- 
cans." He  adds  that  "McGregor's  agent  attempted 
to  contradict  the  truth  of  their  accounts,  and  several 
advertisements  were  published  with  the  view  of 
keeping  up  the  hoax." 

Sir  Gregor  McGregor  continued  to  maintain  the 
farce  of  being  the  ruler  of  a  principality,  for  in 
1836  he  composed  a  constitution,  which  he  dedicated 
"To  the  Inhabitants  of  Poyaisia  and  other  districts 
of  the  Territory  of  the  Mosquito  Shore."  In  it  he 
styles  himself  their  "sincere  friend  and  fellow  citi- 
zen." It  commences:  "We,  the  representatives  of 
the  Freemen  of  the  Mosquito  Territory,  in  General 


104  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

Convocation  met,  resolve  that  the  Territory  shall 
henceforth  be  called  Indialand."  It  is  prefaced  by 
the  same  propositions  as  to  the  inherent  right  of 
man  which  are  introduced  in  the  United  States  Con- 
stitution. It,  however,  declares  that  "slavery  is  for- 
ever abolished  in  this  state." 

The  supreme  legislative  power  is  vested  in  an  as- 
sembly of  the  representatives  of  the  people;  the  ex- 
ecutive in  a  Governor  and  Council,  and  the  judicial 
in  a  senate,  a  supreme  court  and  inferior  courts.  It 
was  evidently  assumed  to  be  an  independent  repub- 
lic, as  no  mention  is  made  of  Great  Britain. 

His  Highness  was,  however,  getting  into  very  deep 
water,  for  in  1839  he  addressed  a  petition  to  the 
Venezuelan  Government  and  pleaded  that  in  consider- 
ation of  his  past  services  to  the  Republic  it  should 
extend  to  him  pecuniary  assistance,  confer  on  him  cit- 
izenship and  restore  his  rank  in  the  army ;  all  of  which 
requests  were  granted. 

My  father's  account  of  the  short-lived  colony, 
which  I  reproduce  intact,  was  written  from  a  diary, 
evidently  revised  after  the  events,  probably  when 
he  was  in  the  United  States.  It  varies  in  some  minor 
particulars  from  the  evidence  elicited  during  the 
official  inquiry.  The  prospectus  by  which  my  father 
and  others  were  tempted  to  join  the  expedition  is 
not  more  extravagant  than  other  similar  mendacious 
documents  of  our  own  day. 

The  Journal  was  published  in  the  Transactions  of 
the  Literary  and  Historical  Society  of  Quebec,  Ses- 
sion of  1868- '9. 


IN  CHARGE  OF  POYAIS  SETTLEMENT  105 

Papeb    I.— ACCOUNT    OF    THE    ATTEMPT    TO    FORM    A 

SETTLEMENT  ON  THE  MOSQUITO  SHORE,  IN  1823. 

By  JAMES  DOUGLAS,  M.  D. 

(Read  before  the  Society,  February  10th,  1869.) 

On  my  return  from  India,  in  the  fall  of  1822,  I  received  an 
appointment  as  Assistant  Surgeon  in  the  Bengal  Presidency. 
While  in  London,  awaiting  the  departure  of  a  vessel  for 
Calcutta,  I  filled  up  my  spare  time  by  attending  the  Practice 
and  Lectures  of  Sir  Astley  Cooper,  in  Guy  and  St.  Thomas' 
Hospitals.  One  day,  while  awaiting  the  opening  of  the 
lecture  room,  and  amusing  myself  by  reading  on  the  walls  of 
the  hall  the  notices  of  boarding-houses,  fencing  and  drawing 
masters,  &c,  I  was  attracted  by  an  open  letter  addressed  to 
Sir  Astley  Cooper  by  the  Secretary  to  the  Government  of 
Poyais,  requesting  him  to  recommend  a  well-qualified  surgeon 
to  accompany  a  party  of  settlers  to  the  Mosquito  Shore. 

I  at  once  proceeded  to  the  Office  of  the  Government,  No.  1, 
Dowgate  Hill,  where  I  found  three  or  four  portly-looking 
gentlemen,  directors,  to  whom  I  introduced  myself.  Finding 
that  I  had  just  come  from  India  and  was  about  to  return  with 
a  permanent  appointment,  I  received  a  hearty  welcome;  and 
after  some  discussion  and  hesitation  on  my  part,  I  agreed  to 
give  up  India  and  proceed  to  the  Mosquito  Shore.  My 
engagement  comprised  a  salary  of  £1  per  diem,  a  furnished 
house,  servant,  horse,  medicines,  &c. 

A  great  difference  of  opinion  existed,  and  still  exists,  as  to 
the  objects,  the  end,  aim  and  management  of  the  Poyais 
scheme.  As  far  as  I  could  learn  at  the  time,  and  have  since 
learnt,  the  conduct  of  the  directors  was  perfectly  in  good 
faith,  and  their  objects  perfectly  legitimate.  They  signally 
failed  from  ignorance  and  from  causes  which  will  be  readily 
recognized  as  I  proceed.  I  may,  however,  now  explain  the 
origin  and  objects  of  an  expedition  which  involved  so  serious 
a  sacrifice  of  property,  and  so  fearful  a  loss  of  life.  The 
Spanish  provinces  at  this  time  had  declared  their  inde- 
pendence, and  were  at  war  with  old  Spain.  Bolivar  and 
Sir  Gregor  MacGregor  had  failed  in  an  attack  on  Carthagena, 
and    had    escaped    with   great    difficulty,    Sir    Gregor    having 


106  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

succeeded  in  reaching  Cape  Gracios  a  Dios,  where  he  re- 
mained some  time  with  George  Frederick,  the  King  of  the 
Mosquito  nation.  At  this  time,  the  Mosquito  Shore  was 
under  the  protection  of  Great  Britain;  and  the  King  had 
been  brought  up,  educated  and  crowned  in  Jamaica,  under 
the  care  of  the  Duke  of  Manchester,  the  Governor  of  the 
British  West  India  Islands.  While  at  Cape  Gracios  a  Dios, 
Sir  Gregor  obtained  from  the  Mosquito  King  a  grant  of  land 
on  the  coast,  for  purposes  of  settlement;  but  being  without 
money  or  influence,  he  sold  his  rights  to  some  merchants  in 
London  for  £16,000.  They  organized  a  company  for  the 
purpose  of  settling  the  land,  but  principally,  as  I  was  in- 
formed, for  the  purpose  of  supplying  British  dry  goods  to 
the  revolted  provinces. 

However,  after  my  agreement  with  the  Directors,  and  lay- 
ing in  the  requisite  medical  stores,  &c,  I  embarked  at  Grave- 
send,  on  22nd  November,  in  a  vessel  called  the  "Honduras 
Packet,"  Hitchcock,  master.  I  found  my  fellow-passengers 
in  the  cabin  to  be  composed  of  Col.  Hall,  the  commandant, 
who  was  about  60  years  of  age,  and  had  been  most  of  his 
life  in  India;  Mr.  Westcott,  secretary;  Mr.  Googer,  com- 
missary; and  myself,  surgeon.  In  the  fore-cabin  were  27 
young  men,  some  of  them  holding  situations,  and  some  going 
out  as  settlers.  Three  of  the  latter  were  married.  In  the 
steerage  were  46  men  and  women,  and  a  very  few  children. 
The  captain  and  owner  of  the  vessel  was  an  old  master  in  the 
navy — a  lying,  blustering,  but  on  the  whole  a  good-natured 
man.  After  an  average  passage,  we  arrived  at  St.  Thomas, 
where  we  remained  14  days.  I  was  delighted  with  St. 
Thomas.  The  inhabitants,  principally  Danes  and  French, 
were  extremely  pleasant  and  hospitable.  Slavery  existed, 
but  apparently  only  in  name;  the  negroes  on  the  plantations 
seemed  to  be  a  most  happy  and  jolly  race,  apparently  always 
on  the  grin. 

On  21st  January,  anchored  in  Port  Royal,  Jamaica,  where 
we  found  four  ships  of  war  under  command  of  Admiral 
Rowley,  and  three  piratical  vessels,  which  had  been  lately 
captured.  I  spent  a  fortnight  very  pleasantly  in  Kingston, 
where   I   met  some   old   school-fellows,   who  did  all   in  their 


IN  CHARGE  OF  POYAIS  SETTLEMENT  107 

power  to  dissuade  me  from  going  on  the  Spanish  main.  They 
represented  in  vain,  but  as  I  afterwards  found  out,  very 
truly,  the  unhealthiness  of  the  climate,  the  want  of  the 
ordinary  necessaries  of  life,  the  dangerous  character  of  the 
natives,  and  the  difficulty  of  getting  away  again,  should  I 
desire  to  do  so.  During  my  stay  in  Jamaica,  I  attended  the 
trial  of  a  band  of  pirates  before  the  Admiralty  Court.  I  could 
not  recognize  the  magnificent  specimen  of  a  leader  so  graphical- 
ly described  by  Tom  Cringle  in  his  famous  log.  Whether  I 
was  prejudiced  by  the  idea  I  entertained  of  their  profession, 
and  the  stories  current  of  their  wanton  cruelties,  I  know 
not:  I  thought  them  the  most  savage,  blood-thirsty,  re- 
pulsive-looking wretches  I  had  ever  seen.  They  were  of  all 
colors,  North  and  South  Americans,  British,  Negroes  and 
Miilattoes.  When  passing  Port  Royal  Point  on  my  departure, 
I  saw  twenty-one  of  the  gang  hanging  in  chains. 

In  February.  1823,  we  arrived  on  the  Mosquito  Shore,  and 
about  noon  anchored  off  the  mouth  of  the  Black  River.  A 
number  of  the  natives,  accompanied  by  a  half-caste  American, 
came  off  to  us  in  a  large  canoe,  called  a  dory.  They 
obstinately  resisted  Col.  Hall's  wish  to  go  on  shore  with 
them.  During  the  discussion,  one  of  the  natives  called  to  the 
party  in  the  cabin,  who  immediately  rose  and  proceeded  to 
leave  the  ship,  in  spite  of  our  entreaties  to  them  to  remain: 
the  leader  remarked  that  it  was  getting  late  in  the  day,  that 
the  Bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  River  must  be  crossed  before 
dark,  &c,  &c,  go  he  would,  and  go  he  did,  in  what  seemed 
to  us  to  be  in  unnecessary  haste.  About  half  an  hour  after 
the  departure  of  the  party,  the  water  being  calm,  I  was  fishing 
over  the  stern  of  the  vessel,  when  a  cat's-paw  crept  over  the 
water.  In  a  few  minutes  it  increased  to  a  hurricane.  The 
iron  cable  snapped,  and  before  sail  could  be  got  on  the  ship, 
I  could  count  the  stones  on  the  beach.  The  hurricane  con- 
tinued all  night,  which  was  very  dark,  and  although  cold 
and  wet,  every  one  remained  on  deck,  listening  to  the  surf 
beating  on  the  shore,  and  expecting  every  moment  the  vessel 
to  strike.  At  day-light  we  found  ourselves  about  half  a  mile 
from  the  shore:  the  sky  was  clear,  but  the  hurricane  still 
continued.     At  3  p.m.,  the  ship  had  got  more  of  an  offing, 


108  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

and  we  then  bore  away  for  the  Island  of  Bonacca,  which  we 
reached  next  day  in  the  afternoon. 

The  Harbour  of  Bonacca  is  landlocked  by  seven  rocky 
islands,  or  keys,  as  they  are  called.  These  islets  are  covered 
with  cocoa-nut  trees.  Bonacca  Island  itself  is  about  four  or 
five  miles  in  diameter,  but  without  any  inhabitants.  We 
found  numbers  of  wild  pigs  and  coneys,  and  abundance  of 
wild  fowl.  We  remained  on  the  Island  ten  days,  ostensibly, 
until  the  damage  to  the  sails  and  rigging  was  repaired. 
During  this  time,  several  of  the  passengers  were  laid  up  with 
sore  feet,  from  the  deposit  of  the  eggs  of  the  chigoe  under  the 
skin,  in  consequence  of  going  without  shoes  or  stockings. 

On  again  reaching  the  roadstead  off  the  mouth  of  the  Black 
River,  the  half-caste  American  and  the  natives  shewed,  or 
pretended  to  shew  great  surprise  at  seeing  us,  supposing  we 
had  been  driven  on  shore,  or  had  foundered  in  the  hurricane. 
We  reproached  them  for  not  warning  us  of  its  approach,  and 
for  evidently  wishing  the  loss  of  the  vessel  and  of  all  on  board. 
Being  late  in  the  afternoon,  we  deferred  going  on  shore  until 
the  next  day. 

The  next  morning,  accordingly,  we  disembarked  in  large 
canoes.  We  found  a  tremendous  surf  on  the  bar  which  ran 
across  the  mouth  of  the  river,  about  half  a  mile  from  the 
shore.  We,  however,  were  all  landed  safely,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  of  the  men  who  remained  to  assist  in  getting 
out  the  cargo.  We  looked  in  vain  for  the  church  and  the 
houses  which  we  had  been  led  to  believe  existed.  The  un- 
broken forest  reached  down  to  the  water's  edge.  The  tents 
having  been  left  on  board,  we  were  fain  to  make  fires  of  the 
drift-wood  and  sleep  on  the  beach. 

Next  morning,  guided  by  the  Indians,  we  selected  a  site  for 
the  settlement  on  the  bank  of  a  lagoon,  about  two  miles  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Black  River,  or  Rio  Tinto  of  the  Spaniards; 
and  as  there  was  not  a  clear  space  sufficient  to  enable  us  to 
pitch  tents,  all  hands  were  soon  busy  in  removing  the  trees 
and  brushwood.  We  succeeded  in  clearing  a  patch,  and 
the  next  day  got  eight  tents  on  shore  and  the  most  of  the 
private  baggage.  Many  of  the  people  finding  the  tents  too 
hot  and  oppressive  under  a  tropical  sun,   erected  wigwams, 


IN  CHARGE  OF  POYAIS  SETTLEMENT  109 

covered  with  spare  sheets,  blankets  and  leafy  branches  of 
trees. 

On  the  following  day,  while  still  busy  clearing  the  banks 
of  the  lagoon,  we  were  visited  by  a  party  of  Caribs,  the  re- 
mains of  the  aborigines  of  the  W.  I.  Islands.  These  people 
at  the  beginning  of  the  century  were  confined  to  the  Island  of 
St.  Vincent,  and  being  irreclaimable  and  very  troublesome, 
were  finally  captured  by  the  British  government,  and  landed 
on  the  main  land,  south  of  Truxillo,  and  just  beyond  the 
borders  of  the  Mosquito  Kingdom.  I  found  them  a  fine  manly 
race  with  the  peculiar  artificial  form  of  skull,  and  in  intellect 
and  disposition,  much  superior  to  the  Mosquito  men.  I  en- 
gaged a  band  of  five  of  them  to  build  me  a  house,  which  they 
did  remarkably  well,  and  in  a  remarkably  short  space  of  time. 
They  sunk  corner  posts  of  the  pitch  pine,  leaving  about 
twelve  feet  over  the  ground,  and  smaller  posts  for  doors, 
windows  and  cross  ties;  the  whole  was  then  walled  in  with 
wild  sugar  cane,  and  thickly  thatched  with  the  leaves  of  the 
palm  tree.  The  doors  and  windows  were  of  cane,  and  were 
swung  from  the  lintels.  My  Carib  friends  and  I  maintained 
a  very  good  understanding  during  my  stay  on  the  coast.  They 
supplied  me  with  game,  fish,  and  fruit,  in  return  for  bleeding 
them,  an  operation  of  which  they  were  very  fond,  and  were 
never  tired.  However,  to  return  to  our  daily  routine.  On 
the  4th  day,  got  two  puncheons  of  rum  on  shore,  and  several 
casks  of  pork,  beef,  and  flour. 

The  next  forenoon  I  was  alarmed  by  seeing  the  ship  in  the 
ofiing  set  sail,  and  steer  to  the  southward,  taking  away  our 
arms,  spirits,  merchandise,  medicines,  and  five  of  the  settlers. 
Capt.  Hitchcock  sent  word  by  the  Indians  who  were  employed 
in  discharging  and  landing  the  cargo,  that  fearing  another 
Norther,  he  would  stay  no  longer,  and  would  not  return;  but 
would  land  the  remainder  of  the  goods  at  Cape  Gracios  a 
Dios.  This  was  a  terrible  blow  and  great  discouragement, 
but  a  few  hours  convinced  us  of  the  wisdom  and  necessity 
of  Capt.  Hitchcock's  decision,  as  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
same  day  the  Norther  did  set  in,  and  blew  with  such  violence 
as  to  level  the  huts,  and  carry  away  the  tents.  My  cane 
house  not  being  finished,  my  own  tent,  though  well  pegged 


110  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

down,  was  blown  away,  and  in  the  night  I  was  left  exposed 
to  the  storm,  and  to  such  a  deluge  of  rain  as  is  only  ex- 
perienced in  the  tropics.  The  next  morning,  the  condition  of 
the  people  was  piteous  in  the  extreme,  and  more  easily  to  be 
imagined  than  described.  The  weather,  however,  though  still 
windy,  was  fine.  The  Indians  kept  us  liberally  supplied  with 
peccary,  venison,  fish  and  fruit,  in  exchange  for  rum,  powder, 
and  shot.  In  the  afternoon  I  took  possession  of  my  house 
and  felt  prouder  than  under  other  circumstances  to  have 
owned  the  best  house  in  Finsbury  Square.  I  bought  a  small 
canoe  of  mahogany  wood,  which  I  could  easily  paddle  by 
myself,  and  what  with  improving  my  house,  shooting,  fishing, 
reading,  and  my  slight  professional  duties,  I  passed  my  time 
most  pleasantly  for  several  weeks.  This,  however,  was  not 
destined  to  last  longer;  in  March  the  rum  was  expended,  and 
from  some  cause  unknown,  the  Indians  disappeared.  About 
the  same  time  several  cases  of  bilious  remittent  fever  occurred. 
I  had  nothing  but  my  lancets  and  a  phial  of  emetic  tartar.  I 
could  say  like  the  lines  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  John  Lettsom: 

"When  patients  sick  to  me  apply, 

I  physics,  bleeds,  and  sweats  them; 
If,  after  that,  they  choose  to  die, 
What's  that  to  me? — I.  Lettsom." 

However,  at  this  period  none  of  my  patients  died;  the 
bilious   remittent  changing  into  an  obstinate  intermittent. 

At  the  end  of  March,  had  ten  cases  of  fever,  of  more  than 
the  ordinary  intensity.  To  add  to  our"  distress,  the  supply  of 
tea,  sugar,  biscuit,  flour,  and  spirits,  was  exhausted;  nothing 
but  salt  beef  and  the  uncertain  and  irregular  supply  of  fish 
and  game.  At  this  time,  some  Indians  came  from  Cape 
Gracios  a  Dios,  and  told  us  that  a  large  ship  was  laying 
there,  with  plenty  of  rum.  Knowing  it  to  be  the  Honduras 
Packet,  Col.  Hall  immediately  set  off  in  a  dory  with  two  of 
the  settlers  and  eleven  Indians. 

Three  days  afterwards,  a  large  ship  anchored  off  the  Bar; 
she  proved  to  be  the  Kennesly  Castle  from  Leith,  with  160 
settlers.  During  the  few  following  days,  they  were  all  safely 
landed  with   their  luggage;    the  vessel,  however,  brought  no 


IN  CHARGE  OF  POYAIS  SETTLEMENT  111 

provisions  for  the  colony;  all  that  was  obtained  were  the 
surplus  stores,  laid  in  for  passengers  on  the  voyage.  A  gentle- 
man named  Smith,  was  attached  to  the  Kennesly  Castle  as 
surgeon.  With  the  ship  the  natives  reappeared,  and  assisted  in 
landing  the  passengers  and  their  goods;  for  some  unexplained 
reason  or  cause,  they  would  not,  however,  hunt  or  fish  for  us. 

On  the  11th  April,  my  earthly  career  nearly  closed.  Being 
desirous  to  go  on  board  the  ship  in  the  offing,  I  started  in  a 
dory  with  Dr.  Smith  and  three  men  to  paddle;  on  reaching 
the  surf  we  found  five  rows  of  breakers,  and  passed  two  with- 
out difficulty;  a  panic  then  seized  the  men,  who  ceased  to 
paddle,  and  insisted  on  returning.  The  result  was  that  the 
dory  lost  way,  and  the  next  breaker  left  us  struggling  in  the 
water.  We  were  about  half  a  mile  from  shore.  Two  of  the 
men  were  good  swimmers;  Dr.  Smith,  however,  got  hold  of 
one  of  them,  and  was  only  induced  to  relinquish  his  hold  by 
blows  of  a  paddle  from  the  other.  I  then  succeeded  in  getting 
Dr.  Smith  within  reach  of  the  dory,  and  instructed  him  how 
to  hold  on  to  its  extreme  end.  A  party  of  Indians  on  the 
Point,  seeing  our  mishap,  launched  their  canoe,  and  picked 
up  the  two  swimmers,  nearly  exhausted.  After  landing  them, 
they  returned  to  our  assistance,  and  taking  off  Dr.  Smith  and 
the  third  man,  they  paddled  out  of  the  surf,  where  leaving 
one  Indian  to  take  them  on  shore,  the  other  two  came  to  my 
assistance.  They  first  righted  the  dory  and  then  cleared  it 
of  the  water  by  see-sawing  it  until  the  most  of  the  water  was 
splashed  out.  They  then  got  it  out  of  the  surf,  leaving  me 
still  holding  on  to  the  stern  until  in  smooth  water.  The  two 
men  first  picked  up,  were  little  the  worse;  Dr.  Smith  was 
very  ill  for  a  couple  of  days;  the  third  man  never  rallied,  and 
died  in  about  three  hours.  On  the  15th,  the  Kennesly  Castle 
sailed,  the  sickness  on  shore  increased,  a  great  deal  of  rain 
fell,  and  as  the  people  were  not  sheltered  from  it,  they  suffered 
greatly.  The  atmosphere  became  thick,  sultry  and  oppressive; 
the  type  of  the  fever  changed,  and  on  this  day  one  young  man 
died.  The  few  medicines  I  had  procured  from  the  Kennesly 
Castle  were  soon  exhausted. 

25th. — Of  220  individuals  all  were  sick,  with  the  exception 
of  nine.     One  family  of  seven  persons — father,   mother,  and 


112  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

five  sons — were  all  ill:  they  lay  on  the  ground  on  cane 
leaves.  On  visiting  them  this  evening,  found  the  mother  had 
been  dead  some  hours,  without  the  knowledge  of  the  others. 

26th. — To-day,  three  of  the  men,  while  crossing  the  lagoon 
in  front  of  my  house,  in  a  pitpan,  upset.  One  of  the  party,  a 
good  swimmer,  struck  out  for  the  shore:  he  had  only  pro- 
ceeded a  few  yards  when  he  shrieked  out  and  suddenly  sank. 
He  had  evidently  been  seized  by  one  of  the  alligators,  which 
were  numerous  in  the  lagoons.  Alligator  was  shot  the  next 
day. 

27th. — To-day,  a  highly  respectable  and  very  worthy  man 
committed  suicide.  He  had  been  ill,  but  was  recovering, 
though  still  unable  to  rise.  He  insisted  that  he  was  going  to 
die,  and  wished  me  to  take  charge  of  his  little  property,  and 
of  a  letter  to  his  wife.  Last  evening  I  had  given  him  a 
little  wine;  this  morning,  when  on  my  way  to  visit  him,  I 
heard  a  shot  fired,  and  on  entering  his  hut,  found  that  he 
had  loaded  a  horse-pistol  to  the  muzzle,  and  had  literally 
blown  himself  to  pieces.  Not  being  able  to  get  any  one  to 
dig  a  grave,  I  collected  some  brushwood,  which  I  piled  in  his 
hut,  and  set  fire  to  it.  To-day,  five  men  and  a  woman  took  a 
large  dory,  got  safely  through  the  surf,  and  off  to  the  north- 
ward. 

28th. — The  two  young  men  who  had  been  upset  with  me  in 
the  surf,  and  another,  left  the  settlement  with  some  Indians 
who  were  going  to  Balize. 

May  1st. — Another  man  died.  To-day,  Col.  Hall  returned, 
bringing  some  of  the  medical  and  other  stores  with  him.  He 
had  found  the  Honduras  Packet  at  the  Cape,  but  could  not 
induce  the  master  to  return  to  the  Settlement.  He  announced 
an  intended  visit  of  the  King. 

6th. — Every  one  sick  and  helpless,  excepting  Colonel  Hall, 
myself,  and  a  rascal  named  McGregor.  Colonel  Hall  and 
myself  took  some  of  the  sick  into  our  houses,  and  attended 
them  as  well  as  we  were  able. 

7th. — To-day,  George  Frederick,  the  King  of  the  Mosquito 
Nation,  arrived,  accompanied  by  several  of  his  Chiefs,  or 
Ministers.  His  arrival  was  a  perfect  God-send  to  us,  as  he 
caused  his  people  to  hunt  and  fish  for  us.     He  was  a  tall  and 


IN  CHARGE  OF  POYAIS  SETTLEMENT  113 

handsome-looking  man,  but  a  most  debauched  character.  He 
drank  excessively,  swore  a  good  deal,  and  was  excessively 
fond  of  playing  at  "all-fours."  He  spoke  and  read  English 
remarkably  well.  One  of  his  staff,  a  hale  old  man,  had  been 
in  Jamaica  with  the  King,  during  his  minority,  and  until  his 
coronation.  He  was  very  communicative,  and  gave  me  a 
good  deal  of  information  on  the  history  of  the  Mosquito 
Shore.  I  will  never  forget  the  diabolical  glee  with  which  he 
gave  me  an  account  of  the  final  destruction  of  the  Spanish 
settlement,  upwards  of  thirty  years  before,  and  in  which  he 
had  taken  a  part.  He  said  that  on  a  dark  night  the  Indians 
had  surrounded  the  entire  place,  and,  while  the  inhabitants 
were  asleep,  had  set  fire  to  the  buildings,  and  massacred  every 
soul — men,  women  and  children.  Not  one  escaped.  He  told 
me  that  my  hut  was  erected  on  the  site  of  the  hospital:  this 
accounted  for  my  having  found  some  square  tiles  and  a  lot 
of  broken  glass,  when  levelling  my  floors.  He  pointed  out  the 
site  of  the  chapel,  or  church,  and  took  me  to  see  the  house 
of  the  Governor.  We  cut  our  way  through  the  brush  with 
our  machetes,  and  found  the  remains  of  what  had  been  a 
good  stone  house.  Most  of  the  first  story,  if  it  ever  had 
more  than  one,  was  still  standing,  but  closely  embraced  by 
the  trees,  shrubs,  and  creeping  plants,  with  which  it  was 
almost  quite  hidden.  Upon  the  whole,  I  was  pleased  with 
what  I  had  seen,  which  satisfied  me  that  the  frontispiece 
to  Colonel  Strangeway's  book  was  not  purely  mythical:  it 
shewed  some  good-looking  buildings  surrounding  a  church 
with  a  respectable  steeple.  I  suspect  the  veracious  Colonel 
had  taken  his  view  from  some  old  Spanish  print. 

15th. — The  King  and  his  court  departed  rather  suddenly, 
and  in  great  or  pretended  wrath.  He  had  demanded  from 
Col.  Hall  that  he  and  the  whole  of  the  people  should  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  him.  To  this  demand  Col.  Hall  would 
not  listen  for  an  instant;  angry  words  ensued,  which  ended 
in  His  Majesty  and  his  following  getting  into  their  canoes 
and  starting  back  to  the  Cape,  with  scanty  leave  taking. 

The  principal,  if  not  the  only  cause  of  regret  for  the  King's 
departure,    was    in   the   circumstance   that    he    took    all   the 


114  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

Indians  away  with  him,  and  in  consequence  deprived  us  of 
our  necessary  supplies  of  game,  fish  and  fruit. 

20th. — A  small  schooner  from  Balize  in  the  Bay  of 
Honduras,  anchored  this  morning  off  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
the  owner,  Mr.  Bennett,  having  heard  through  the  English 
papers  of  our  settlement.  Although  bound  for  Carthagena, 
Mr.  Bennett  most  generously  offered  to  convey  as  many  of 
the  worst  cases  among  the  sick,  as  his  vessel  would  hold,  to 
Balize;  this  most  generous  offer  was  thankfully  accepted,  and 
the  next  day  the  schooner  departed  with  57  persons. 

On  their  departure  I  felt  a  peculiar  depression  of  spirits.  I 
called  to  discuss  our  state  and  prospects  with  Col.  Hall,  and 
while  conversing  with  him,  became  suddenly  seized  with 
acute  pain  in  my  head  and  giddiness.  I  hardly  know  how 
I  reached  my  hut.  I  recovered  with  a  vague  and  dreamy 
idea  of  having  bled  myself,  and  of  having  neglected  or  been 
unable  to  bandage  up  my  arm  after  the  operation.  In  five  or 
six  days  I  regained  my  full  consciousness,  and  was  able  to 
sit  up  in  bed,  but  an  obstinate  intermittent  set  in,  which 
reduced  me  to  a  skeleton.  This,  and  the  weakness  caused 
by  the  excessive  loss  of  blood,  rendered  me  unable  to  get  out. 
During  the  intermissions,  I  was  only  able  to  sit  at  the  window 
and  shoot  parrots,  lizards,  or  anything  eatable  or  uneatable, 
which  came  within  shot,  to  sustain  life  in  myself  and  in  an 
Irish  woman,  one  of  the  individuals  whom  I  had  taken  in  and 
nursed  some  time  before.  To  this  poor  and  faithful  woman  I 
owe  much,  as  she  devoted  herself  to  my  care,  although  she  her- 
self was  weak,  and  still  suffering  from  ague.  In  June,  H. 
Majesty's  sloop  of  war  Redwing  came  to  an  anchor  in  the 
Roads.  She  had  been  despatched  to  our  assistance  by  Gen. 
Codd,  the  superintendent  at  Balize.  From  the  time  of  my 
attack,  I  do  not  remember  any  occurrence  distinctly.  I  have 
a  dim  and  dreamy  remembrance  of  being  carried  to  the 
beach  in  a  hammock  by  the  sailors,  and  of  lying  on  the  deck 
of  the  Redwing  until  her  arrival  in  Balize.  I  am  aware  that 
she  took  off  all  the  settlers,  excepting  two  or  three  who  were 
well  enough  to  remain  and  take  charge  of  what  was  left  of 
the  property  at  the  settlement.  On  my  arrival  in  Balize  I 
was  placed  in  lodgings  with  a  very  kind  negress.     During  my 


IN  CHARGE  OF  POYAIS  SETTLEMENT  115 

stay  I  recovered  some  strength,  so  that  occasionally  only,  I 
was  enabled  to  crawl  out.  My  mind  also  somewhat  re- 
covered its  tone.  The  ague,  however,  was  most  persistent. 
I  was  as  thin  as  a  whipping  post,  and  as  yellow  as  a  guinea. 
While  I  remained  in  Balize,  one  of  the  three  young  men  who 
had  left  the  Black  River  with  some  Indians  in  April,  made 
his  appearance  in  Balize.  He  stated  that  on  the  passage  he 
and  his  two  companions  were  seized  by  the  Indians  and 
thrown  overboard  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  shore; 
one  sank  immediately,  the  second  swam  a  considerable  dis- 
tance before  sinking,  the  survivor  got  on  shore  and  reached 
Omoa,  and  was  forwarded  to  Balize.  As  the  Mosquito  men 
were  still  in  Balize,  they  were  arrested,  and  I  was  carried  to 
court  to  identify  them.  As  no  court  having  criminal  juris- 
diction existed  in  Balize,  the  accuser  and  the  accused  were 
sent  in  a  vessel  of  war  to  Jamaica  for  trial. 

Before  my  arrival  in  Balize,  some  of  the  party  of  six  who 
had  left  the  settlement  on  27th  April  were  brought  to  Balize. 
When  at  the  entrance  of  the  Bay  of  Honduras,  they  had 
staved  their  dory  at  night  on  a  small  rocky  key.  They  saved 
some  salt  beef,  but  had  no  water;  after  lingering  for  several 
days,  two  died  from  thirst.  They  were  then  picked  up  by  a 
Spanish  turtling  boat,  where  two  more  of  them  died.  The 
woman  was  the  only  one  who  suffered  little. 

In  September,  I  became  so  ill  and  weak  as  to  be  unable  to 
rise.  My  recollections  of  what  passed  for  some  weeks  were 
so  faint,  that  on  my  recovery  I  could  with  difficulty  recall  any 
occurrences.  I  have  a  dim  idea  of  a  gentleman  visiting  and 
praying  with  me.  I  have  a  dim  recollection  of  him  offering 
me  a  passage  to  Boston,  and  some  time  after,  of  his  heading 
a  procession  of  sailors  who  carried  me  on  board  of  a  schooner 
in  a  hammock  slung  on  an  oar.  The  schooner  touched  and 
remained  some  days  in  Havannah,  waiting  for  the  convoy 
of  men-of-war,  as  at  that  time  the  West  India  seas  were 
greatly  infested  by  pirates;  but  I  was  too  ill  and  weak  to  be 
moved  out  of  my  berth. 

On  my  arrival  in  Boston  I  was  sent  on  shore  and  placed  in 
Quarantine.     The  next  day,  however,  or  the  day  after  that, 


116  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

on  a  formal  consultation  I  was  discharged  and  sent  up  to 
the  city. 


I  append  herewith  a  copy  of  the  printed  circular  issued  by 
the  Company: 

Regulations  of  the  Poyais  Land  Office,  No.  1, 
Dowgate-Hill,  London. 

I. — The  LANDS  are  sold  in  Square  Miles,  or  Sections  of 
640  Acres;  Half -Sections  of  320  Acres;  Quarter-Sections  of 
160  Acres;  in  Eighths  of  80  Acres;  and  Sixteenths  of  40 
Acres. 

II. — The  Proprietors  of  Land  in  this  Territory,  pay  a 
Feu-Duty  of  One  Cent,  of  a  Dollar  per  Acre.  One  Hundred 
Cents,  make  a  Dollar,  which  is  equal  to  about  4s.  Qd.  Sterling; 
the  Feu-Duty,  therefore,  does  not  amount  to  more  than  about  a 
Halfpenny  per  Acre;  and  the  payment  thereof  is  not  to 
commence  until  five  years  after  the  date  of  the  purchase. 
The  Grants  are  transferable,  without  expense,  by  simple  in- 
dorsation, in  presence  of  two  Witnesses;  and  it  is  specially 
stipulated,  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  foresaid  Feu-Duty, 
the  Purchaser  shall  be  free  from  all  and  every  Impost  or 
Taxation  whatsoever,  unless  such  as  shall  be  voluntarily  and 
freely  agreed  to  by  the  Grantees,  their  Heirs,  or  Assigns,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  State. 

III. — The  Price  of  these  Lands  is  at  present  Three  Shillings 
per  Acre,  and  on  the  15th  of  November  will  be  advanced  to 
Four  Shillings,  and  a  further  advance  will  take  place  soon 
thereafter.  As  it  is  only  intended  to  sell  a  particular  quantity 
of  Land  at  these  low  prices,  should  that  quantity  be  sold 
previous  to  a  certain  period,  the  Price  of  the  Lands  will  be 
considerably  advanced.  It  may  also  be  observed,  that,  should 
certain  circumstances  take  place,  which  are  in  a  state  of 
progress,  a  much  greater  advance  than  here  noticed  will 
probably  be  the  consequence. 

IV. — Purchasers  may  secure  to  themselves  Grants  at  the 
Price  of  the  Day,  by  paying  a  Deposit  of  25  per  Cent,  pre- 
vious to  the  next  Advance,  and  the  Remainder  of  the  Pur- 
chase-Money within  such  time  after  the  date  of  the  Deposit 


IN  CHARGE  OF  POYAIS  SETTLEMENT  117 

as  may  be  agreed  upon,  by  which  they  will  be  entitled  to 
receive  their  Grants,  even  though  the  Price  in  the  meantime 
may  have  advanced.  Those  Purchasers,  however,  who  fail 
to  pay  up  the  Balance  at  the  stipulated  time,  may,  upon  ap- 
plication, receive  a  Grant  of  Land  equal  in  value  to  the 
amount  of  their  Deposit,  provided  the  application  be  made 
within  the  term  of  Six  Months  from  the  date  of  the  said 
Deposit:  but  if,  at  the  expiration  of  this  last  term,  no  ap- 
plication should  be  made,  the  Deposit  will  then  be  considered 
forfeited.  The  TITLE-DEEDS  may  be  seen,  and  every  in- 
formation obtained,  by  applying  personally,  or  by  Letter, 
(post  paid)  addressed  to  the  Agent  of  the  Poyais  Land  Office, 
No.   1,  Doxogate-Eill,  London. 

The  TERRITORY  of  POYAIS,  which  forms  within  itself 
a  free  and  independent  State,  under  the  government  of  its 
own  Cazique,  is  situated  on  the  mountainous  side  of  the 
Bay  of  Honduras,  in  North  America;  is  three  or  four  days' 
sail  from  Jamaica;  thirty  hours'  from  the  British  Settle- 
ment of  Balize  in  Yucatan;  and  about  eight  days'  from  New 
Orleans,  in  the  United  States  of  America. — The  CLIMATE 
is  remarkably  healthy,  and  agrees  admirably  with  the  con- 
stitution of  Europeans;  many  of  whom  having  become  much 
debilitated  by  a  long  residence  in  the  West  Indies,  have  been 
completely  restored  to  health  by  a  removal  for  a  short  period 
to  the  Bay  of  Honduras. — The  SOIL  is  extremely  rich  and 
fertile,  bearing  Three  Crops  of  Indian  Corn  in  a  Year;  and 
produces  not  only  all  the  necessaries  of  life  in  profusion,  but 
is  also  well  adapted  for  the  cultivation  of  all  those  valuable 
Commercial  Commodities  which  have  rendered  the  West  Indies 
so  important; — such  as  Sugar,  Coffee,  Cotton,  Tobacco,  Cocoa, 
&c.  &c. — The  Face  of  the  Country  is  beautifully  varied  by 
Hill  and  Valley,  and  likewise  abounds  with  fine  Savannahs 
or  Plains,  and  in  Forests  of  the  most  valuable  TIMBER,  such 
as  Mahogany,  Cedar,  Santa  Maria  Wood,  Rose- Wood,  Zebra- 
Wood,  Pitch-Pine,  and  many  others  useful  for  every  purpose 
of  Husbandry,  erection  of  Houses,  Shipbuilding,  Cabinet 
Ware,  &c. — and  the  West-India  Markets  always  present  a 
ready  and  profitable  sale  for  all  sorts  of  Lumber  as  well  as 
Provisions. — Tar,  Pitch,  Turpentine,  and  Ashes,  can  be  pro- 


118  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

duced  in  abundance. — Dye  Woods  are  found  in  great  plenty, 
such  as  Fustic,  Yellow  Sanders,  Nicaragua  Wood,  &c. — Indigo 
is  indigenous,  and  can  also  be  cultivated  to  great  advantage. — 
A  variety  of  Gums,  Medicinal  Plants,  and  Drugs,  are  plenti- 
fully dispersed  all  over  the  Country. — Horses  and  black  Cattle 
are  abundant,  as  also  Deer,  wild  Hogs,  Poultry,  &c.  &c. — 
The  Rivers  are  numerous,  and  there  is  abundance  of  Streams 
of  Water;  several  of  the  former  are  navigable  for  a  consider- 
able way  into  the  interior  of  the  Country,  and  many  of  them 
produce,  by  washing  the  Sand  in  fine  Sieves,  native  Globules 
of  pure  Gold.  Many  Gold  Mines,  and  those  very  rich,  are 
found  in  the  Country,  which  might,  with  proper  management, 
be  wrought  to  great  benefit. — A  great  variety  of  excellent  Fish 
is  to  be  met  with  in  all  the  Rivers,  Lagoons,  and  on  the 
Shores:  Turtle  is  very  abundant,  especially  the  species  de- 
nominated Hawksbill,  which  is  particularly  desirable  on  ac- 
count of  its  Shell,  so  much  prized  in  Europe,  under  the  name 
of  Tortoise-shell. — Fruits  of  every  description  are  likewise  in 
great  plenty. 

This  Territory  adjoins  the  Spanish  American  Province  of 
Honduras  and  Niacaragua,  from  which,  however,  it  is  sep- 
arated by  a  chain  of  almost  inaccessible  Mountains.  The 
Spaniards,  in  former  times,  made  several  unsuccessful  at- 
tempts to  subdue  the  native  Indians;  but  since  their  last 
defeat,  which  happened  about  thirty  years  ago,  they  have 
never  shewn  any  disposition  to  molest  them.  This  Country 
is  indeed  so  completely  defended  by  nature,  that  any  hostile 
attempts  against  it  are  impracticable.  The  native  Inhabitants 
are  a  brave  and  independent  Race,  who  esteem  and  are  affec- 
tionately attached  to  the  British.  Most  of  them  speak  Eng- 
lish, are  considerably  advanced  in  civilization,  and  their 
Labour  can  be  had  on  very  moderate  terms. 

An  intelligent  Gentleman,  who  was  many  years  senior  Naval 
Officer  in  the  Bay  of  Honduras,  &c.  asserts,  (and  his  asser- 
tion is  confirmed  by  every  person  who  is  acquainted  with,  or 
who  has  written  on  the  subject)  "That  this  Country,  taking 
it  in  all  points  of  view,  surpasses  not  only  every  part  of 
the  West  Indies,  but  that,  on  account  of  the  richness  of 
the   Soil,  the   luxuriance   of  the   Woods,  the   great   salubrity 


IN  CHARGE  OF  POTAIS  SETTLEMENT  119 

of    the    Air,    the    remarkable    excellence    of    its    Waters    and 
Provisions,  with  its  almost  unrivalled  Harbours  for  Shipping 
with   which   the    Shore    abounds,    is   excelled  by    no   Country 
under  the   influence  of  British  Dominion." 
1st  Novembeb,   1822. 


CHAPTER  V 

MY   FATHER'S    ACTIVE    PROFESSIONAL    LIFE 

His  autobiographical  notes,  which  I  copy,  describe 
his  short  residence  in  the  United  States  and  his  com- 
pulsory and  hasty  transfer  to  Canada: 

"On  the  arrival  of  the  schooner  in  Boston  I  was 
sent  on  shore,  and  placed  in  Quarantine.  The  next 
day  however,  or  a  day  or  two  after  that,  I  was  dis- 
charged, and  sent  up  to  the  City. 

"I  was  removed  to  a  very  comfortable  boarding- 
house,  kept  by  Mrs.  Wilson.  I  lay  there  for  many 
weeks,  most  of  the  time  in  a  semi-conscious  condi- 
tion. I  was  most  kindly  attended  by  Dr.  Warren,  to 
whom,  I  am  convinced,  that  under  Providence,  I 
owe  my  life.  I  regret  exceedingly,  that  I  never  had 
an  opportunity  of  acknowledging  my  sense  of  his 
skill  and  of  his  kindness  to  me.  On  my  partial  recovery 
being  still  extremely  emaciated,  very  weak,  and  un- 
able to  find  a  passage  to  England,  I  embarked  in  a 
schooner  for  New  York.  I  found  on  board  as  fel- 
low passengers,  an  Irish  gentleman,  with  his  lady  and 
niece.  They  dissuaded  me  from  my  purpose  of  sail- 
ing from  New  York,  on  the  plea  that  it  would  be  a 
pity  to  do  so,  without  seeing  something  more  of  the 


122  MY  FATHER 'S  JOURNAL 

United  States.  As  I  was  too  weak  to  travel,  except- 
ing by  water,  I  went  with  them  in  a  long  masted 
schooner,  to  Albany,  from  Albany,  I  took  passage  by 
the  Erie  Canal  to  Buffalo,  intending  to  descend  the 
river  to  Quebec.  On  arrival  at  Utica,  finding  that  the 
banks  of  the  Canal  had  given  way  at  a  village  called 
Amsterdam,  my  companions  took  the  stage,  and  I, 
being  too  weak  to  bear  land  carriage,  was  compelled 
to  remain  in  Utica,  until  the  damage  to  the  Canal 
was  made  good.  I  took  up  my  abode  in  Amos  Gay's 
hotel,  where  I  impatiently  awaited  the  completion 
of  the  repairs  to  the  Canal.  I  was  rapidly  gaining 
strength,  and  was  able  to  walk  about,  having  got  rid 
of  my  ague,  which  had  persecuted  me  daily  for 
seven  months,  and  had  reduced  me  to  a  yellow  skele- 
ton. In  the  meanwhile,  winter  had  made  its  appear- 
ance, and  the  Canal  would  be  closed  with  ice.  I  was 
seriously  meditating  a  return  to  New  York  by  the 
Canal,  when  an  accident  occurred  which  was  the 
means  of  altering  entirely  my  future  life  and  career. 
One  afternoon,  a  respectable  farmer,  whom  I  had 
occasionally  met  at  the  hotel  table,  came  to  me  with 
a  request,  that  I  should  visit  a  man  who  had  been 
run  through  by  the  handle  of  a  pitch-fork.  He  took 
me  in  his  waggon  to  a  village  called  Paris,  where  I 
found  the  patient,  a  well  to  do  farmer,  surrounded 
by  a  couple  of  medical  men,  and  several  sympathising 
friends.  He  told  me,  that  while  throwing  down  hay 
from  a  shelf  in  his  barn,  his  feet  had  slipped,  and  he 
had  fallen  to  the  lower  floor  with  the  pitch-fork,  the 
handle  of  which,  had  run  him  through  the  body.  On 
examination,  I  found  the  wound  was  in  the  groin,  and 


MY  FATHER'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    123 

that  portions  of  his  shirt  and  trowsers  had  been  car- 
ried into  the  abdomen,  and  had  remained  there.  The 
bladder  and  intestines  seemed  to  have  escaped  injury. 
As  he  was  a  tall  powerful  man,  of  spare  habit  of  body, 
and  extremely  temperate,  I  thought  that  if  the  plug 
of  clothes  could  be  extracted,  he  might  recover  from 
the  effects  of  the  injury.  On  turning  him  over,  I 
felt  a  hardness  over  the  crest  of  the  opposite  ilium, 
I  cut  down  upon  it,  until  a  puff  of  air,  shewed  me 
that  I  had  entered  the  cavity  of  the  abdomen;  I 
found  the  plug  of  clothes,  and  extracted  it.  The  pa- 
tient recovered,  without  any  untoward  symptom.  I 
awoke  the  next  morning,  and  found  myself  famous, 
Surgical  practice  poured  in  on  me,  and  determined  me 
to  remain  in  Utica  until  the  Spring,  and  then  to  be 
guided  by  circumstances.  Circumstances  did  guide 
me.  I  became  attached  to  a  most  amiable  and  talented 
young  lady.  I  abandoned  the  idea  of  India,  I  built 
me  a  house,  I  married,  I  sent  to  England  for  my 
young  brother  George,  and  settled  down  to  practise, 
with  the  intention  of  spending  my  life  in  Utica. 

"My  first  patient  was  a  wealthy  farmer,  he  was 
extremely  grateful,  he  gave  me  fifty  dollars,  and  sub- 
sequently made  me  the  present  of  a  horse.  The 
Western  part  of  the  State  being  then  newly  settled, 
and  the  population  much  scattered,  my  practice,  which 
was  principally  surgical,  took  me  sometimes  long  dis- 
tances. My  health  however,  steadily  improved,  and  I 
was  extremely  happy  in  my  domestic  relations. 

"In  the  Autumn  of  1824,  I  was  invited  by  the 
faculty  of  the  Medical  College  at  Auburn,  to  deliver 
a  course  of  lectures  on  Anatomy  and  Surgery,  the 


124  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

gentleman  from  Boston,  who  had  previously  filled 
the  chair,  being  ill.  The  State's  prison  for  New 
York,  was  at  Auburn,  and  as  the  law  gave  for  dissec- 
tion, the  bodies  of  all  prisoners  dying  in  the  Institu- 
tion, there  was  no  lack  of  the  raw  material.  The 
offer  made  to  me  for  my  course  of  lectures  and  demon- 
strations, were  liberal,  and  I  was  engaged  to  repeat  it 
on  the  following  session." 

I  have  found  the  following  documents  bearing  on 
his  connection  with  the  Auburn  Medical  School  and 
his  reception  of  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  from 
the  Berkshire  Medical  Institution  after  his  departure 
from  Utica: 

"AUBURN  MEDICAL   SCHOOL. 

"THE  attention  of  the  Medical  Faculty  and  com- 
munity generally,  who  are  friendly  to  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Medical  School  at  Auburn,  is  solicited  in 
favour  of  the  present  efforts  to  prepare  the  way  for 
a  permanent  institution. 

"The  course  of  Lectures  for  this  year  will  com- 
mence on  the  first  day  of  March,  next. 

"On  Anatomy  and  Operations  in  Surgery  by 
JAMES  DOUGLASS,  M.  D. 

"On  Obstetricks  by  Dr.  I.  H.  SMITH. 

"On  Theory  and  practice  of  Medicine  by  Dr.  E. 
D.  TUTTLE. 

"On  Chymistry  and  Natural  Philosophy  by  JE- 
DEDIAH  SMITH,  M.  D. 

"The  object  is  to  commence  a  Medical  Institution. 
Though  the  courses  will  be  as  full  and  complete  as 
at  the  Colleges,  the  fee  required  will  only  be  such  as 
to  defray  the  actual  expenses. 


MY  FATHER'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    125 

"  Those  gentlemen  who  intend  to  favour  our  views 
and  receive  the  benefits  of  the  course  of  Anatomical 
Demonstrations,  will  be  pleased  to  forward  their 
names  to  Dr.  Tuttle,  or  Dr.  I.  H.  Smith,  on  or  before 
the  15th  of  February  next. 

"Auburn,  January  15th,  1825. 


"The  inhabitants  of  the  Village  of  Auburn,  rec- 
ommend to  the  attention  and  patronage  of  the  pub- 
lic the  object  and  undertaking  above  proposed,  be- 
lieving that  from  the  characters  of  the  medical  gen- 
tlemen engaged  in  it,  it  will  be  rendered  highly  im- 
portant and  useful  in  promoting  the  science  and  art 
on  which  they  propose  to  lecture.  Dr.  Douglass  it 
appears  from  his  credentials  is  a  graduate  of  the 
University  of  Edinburgh,  and  we  are  also  satisfied 
from  them,  that  he  has  enjoyed  extensive  and  valu- 
able means  of  perfecting  himself  in  his  profession 
which  the  Cities  of  Edinburgh  and  London  afford. 
We  are  of  opinion  that  the  part  assigned  to  him  will 
be  ably,  usefully  and  scientifically  performed.  The 
three  other  gentlemen  are  known  to  us  and  we  have 
no  hesitation  in  recommending  them  to  the  public 
as  entirely  competent  to  perform  their  several  parts 
in  a  manner  which  will  give  satisfaction  to  students 
and  be  honourable  to  themselves. 

"Geo.  B.  Throop,  E.  Miller, 
"Wm.  H.  Seward,  G.  Powers, 
"E.  Hoskins,  D.  C.  Lansing, 

"E.  D.  Throop,       R.  L.  Smith, 
"M.  C.  Reed,  M.  L.  R.  Perrine." 


126  MY  FATHEE'S  JOURNAL 

(Written  on  Reverse  of  Printed  Announcement) 
"Auburn,  Jan.  25th,  1825. 
"Dear  Sir:- 

"You  see  on  this  paper  what  Dr.  Tuttle  and  others 
intend  accomplishing.  I  came  to  this  place  from 
Ithaca  a  few  days  ago  to  give  a  course  of  chemical 
and  philosophical  experiments  and  I  expected  you 
would  be  here  at  the  same  time.  My  class  of  medical 
students  and  citizens  are  desirous  that  I  should  com- 
mence, but  I  wish  to  delay  until  you  arrive.  I  wish 
that  you  would  let  me  know  if  there  is  any  doubt 
respecting  your  course  beginning  on  the  first  of 
March,  and  what  will  prevent  your  coming,  etc. 
Many  students  will  come  to  attend  the  chemical  if 
they  could  at  the  same  time  attend  the  anatomical 
lectures.  This  village  has  a  number  of  medical  stu- 
dents. I  have  made  these  requests  of  you  because  I 
have  not  heard  the  particulars  from  Dr.  Tuttle.  I 
am  in  hopes  nothing  will  prevent  you  from  giving 
the  course  as  is  expected.  This  notice  was  prepared 
before  I  came. 

"Remember  me  to  Dr.  Church  and  Dr.  Coventry. 
"Yours  most  respectfully, 

"(Signed)     Jedediah  Smith. 
"Dr.  James  Douglass." 

"This  may  Certify  that  for  some  months  past  I 
have  been  acquainted  with  Doctor  James  Douglas. 
It  appears  from  his  Diplomas  that  he  has  had  very 
favourable  opportunities  of  acquiring  a  competent 
knowledge  of  Anatomy  and  Surgery,  and  so  far  as 
I  have  been  enabled  to  judge,  he  appears  expert  in 


MY  FATHER'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    127 

his  profession.     I  know  nothing  derogatory  to  his 
character  as  a  Gentleman.     Utica,  Jany.  7th,  1825. 

"Alexr.  Coventry." 

"BERKSHIRE  MEDICAL  INSTITUTION 

"Oct.  5th,  1826. 
"To  James  Douglas,  M.D. 
"Dear  Sir:— 

"With  pleasure  I  inform  you  that  in  compliance 
with  the  representations  and  wishes  of  the  Faculty 
of  this  Instn.,  the  Trustees  of  "Wms.  College  have  con- 
ferred on  you  the  honourary  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine.  As  you  did  not  in  your  second  communi- 
cation intimate  which  would  be  most  agreeable  to 
your  wishes,  an  honourary  degree  or  a  degree  of  a 
different  character,  and  since  presumedly  the  for- 
mer would  fully  answer  your  purpose,  we  followed 
the  dictates  of  our  own  feelings,  and  succeeded  with 
the  Trustees  as  I  have  stated.  No  expense  attaches 
to  the  transaction  except  some  five  or  six  dollars 
which  may  have  been  paid  out  for  the  document,  its 
execution  and  postage,  which  I  have  been  obliged  to 
pay  on  all  the  communications  which  have  passed 
between  us,  while  travelling  in  the  mail  to  and  from 
the  line  between  the  State  and  the  Province,  not  be- 
ing able  to  persuade  our  Postmaster  that  it  was  not 
his  duty  to  exact  the  P.  Office  fees.  This,  however, 
has  been  a  matter  of  necessity,  growing  out  of  the 
nature  of  things,  and  is  rather  to  be  placed  to  the 
account  of  international  courtesy,  which  is  at  all 
times  due  from  one  gentleman  to  another,  situated 
as  we  are.    I  therefore  pray  you  to  consider  it  of  no 


128  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

consequence,  and  give  yourself  no  further  trouble 
about  it.  Should  business  or  pleasure  bring  you  this 
way,  it  would  give  me  and  my  colleages  much  satis- 
faction to  become  personally  acquainted  with  you. 
I  should  have  written  you  sooner  had  I  not  wanted 
to  have  your  degree  executed,  which  was  indeed  done 
some  time  since,  but  did  not  come  to  hand  till  last 
evening.  I  hope  this  apology  for  delay  will  be  satisfac- 
tory. "Will  you  do  me  the  favour  to  inform  Dr. 
Morrin  that  his  documents  came  safely  to  hand  a 
few  days  ago.  They  arrived  too  late  to  be  acted  on 
this  year,  but  shall  be  duly  attended  to  next.  I  have 
the  honour  to  be,  sir, 

"Yours,  etc.,  etc." 

My  father's  autobiography  continues:  "On  my 
return  to  Utica,  my  brother  George,  having  arrived, 
I  fitted  up  a  dissecting  room  over  my  office,  and 
resumed  my  dissections.  I  had  obtained  the  body 
of  a  Negro  boy,  a  slave  of  Judge  Kipp;  the  fact 
became  known,  and  as  body  snatching  was  a  State's 
prison  offence,  the  Judge  was  proceeding  to  take 
steps  to  send  me  back  to  Auburn  as  a  State's  pris- 
oner, when  I  determined  to  go  boldly  to  the  Judge, 
and  plead  my  own  case.  I  was  very  ungraciously  re- 
ceived; I  was  charged  with  violating  the  sanctity  of 
his  household,  and  outraging  the  feelings  of  the  ladies 
of  his  family.  I  pleaded  that  a  knowledge  of  Anato- 
my was  indispensible  to  a  medical  man,  that,  know- 
ing the  penalty,  I  could  have  no  intention  to  wound 
the  feelings  of  the  ladies,  for  whom  I  entertained  the 
most  profound  respect,  and  that  I  had  taken  precau- 
tions against  it  coming  to  his  or  their  knowledge. 


MY  FATHER'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    129 

The  Judge  left  the  room  for  a  minute  or  two;  soon 
after  his  return,  two  ladies  entered  it,  ostensibly  for 
the  purpose  of  looking  for  something,  but,  evidently 
to  see  the  person  who  had  committed  the  atrocious 
act.  The  Judge  then  read  me  a  lecture,  saying,  that 
if  the  case  had  come  before  him  in  any  other  form, 
he  would  have  considered  it  to  be  his  duty  to  press 
the  penalty,  but,  as  it  affected  him  personally,  he 
would  let  me  off,  on  my  assurance  that  I  would  not 
commit  such  a  crime  again.  This  I  gave  him,  know- 
ing that  he  had  not  another  Negro  boy  to  die. 

"The  following  summer  passed  very  pleasantly.  I 
was  very  successful  in  my  practice,  very  happy  in 
my  domestic  relations,  and  very  sanguine  in  my  future 
prospects.  In  the  ensuing  Autumn,  I  again  fulfilled 
my  engagements  to  the  Auburn  Medical  College,  and 
returned  to  Utica,  to  my  practice,  and  to  my  studies.  A 
Scotch  lad,  without  friends,  had  died  at  a  factory  at 
Hartford,  about  four  miles  from  town;  instead  of 
his  body,  mistaking  the  grave,  I  got  that  of  a  well 
known  and  highly  respected  citizen.  A  few  days  after- 
ward, being  suddenly  called  out,  I  left  my  office  door 
unlocked  for  my  brother,  who  was  at  the  moment  ab- 
sent. On  my  return,  I  found  a  stage-driver,  who 
finding  no  one  in  the  office  below,  had  gone  upstairs, 
and  was  looking  at  his  old  employer.  He  exclaimed, 
'I  guess  I  never  expected  to  see  my  old  friend  P. 
again.'  He  assured  me  that  he  would  not  mention 
the  circumstances,  etc.,  etc.  I  professed  to  believe 
him,  but,  as  soon  as  he  was  gone,  my  brother  and  I 
reburied  the  remains,  and  having  no  faith  in  the  stage- 
driver's  promises,  but  full  faith  in  Judge  Kipp's 


130  MY  FATHER 'S  JOURNAL 

assurances,  Mrs.  Douglas  and  I  packed  up  a  few  things, 
I  harnessed  my  horse  to  a  small  sleigh,  called  a  pung, 
and  lost  no  time  in  getting  into  Canada  by  crossing  the 
St.  Lawrence  on  the  ice,  at  Ogdensburg.  My  brother 
remained  in  Utica  for  some  months,  to  sell  my  house, 
and  settle  my  affairs.  I  never  heard  that  the  stage- 
driver  mentioned  his  discovery,  and  my  flight  may  have 
been  needless.  At  any  rate  this  abruptly  terminated 
my  citizenship  of  the  U.  S.,  and  I  have  not  yet  decided 
whether  or  not  it  has  been  to  my  advantage. 

"On  my  arrival  in  Montreal,  I  found  two  of  my 
old  Edinburgh  class  mates,  Drs.  Stevenson  and  Holmes. 
They  both  strongly  advised  me  to  remain  in  Canada, 
and  I  must  confess,  that  since  my  marriage,  my  desire 
and  intention  to  return  to  India,  were  considerably 
weakened.  I  remained  several  days  in  Montreal, 
when,  the  season  advancing,  and  fearing  to  lose  snow 
roads,  I  embarked  in  my  pung  and  started  for  Quebec, 
where  I  arrived  on  a  fine  afternoon,  on  the  13th. 
March,  1826.  Finding  myself  in  the  approaches  to 
St.  Louis  Gate,  and  thinking  that  I  was  entering  the 
military  works,  I  turned  round,  and  approaching 
John's  Gate,  I  again  turned  round,  and  seeing  St. 
Rochs  below  me,  I  made  my  way  there,  and  ultimately 
got  into  Quebec  by  following  a  carter  through  Hope 
Gate. 

"Once  fairly  within  the  walls,  I  looked  out  for  an 
hotel  with  stabling,  and  after  a  while,  I  got  into  La- 
fontaine's,  in  what  was  then  the  Hay  Market.  My 
wife  and  I  then  strolled  through  the  streets  and  ram- 
parts, and  were  so  charmed  with  the  situation,  the  mili- 
tary look,  the  views  of  the  magnificent  river  and  sur- 


MY  FATHER'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    131 

rounding  scenery,  that  we  resolved  to  make  it  our 
future  home.  The  next  day,  I  waited  upon  the  Revd. 
Mr.  Booth,  the  Wesleyan  minister,  and  requested  him 
to  recommend  me  to  private  lodgings.  He  took  me 
to  Mr.  Smillie,  the  jeweller  on  Mountain  Hill,  where 
my  wife  and  I  were  very  comfortably  lodged,  until 
we  had  provided  a  permanent  residence.  The  next 
object  was  to  get  rid  of  my  horse,  a  very  handsome 
and  powerful  animal ;  I  sold  it  to  Col.  Gore,  R.  A.  A 
few  days  afterwards,  I  succeeded  in  leasing  a  very 
large  and  commodious  house  on  Mountain  Hill,  the 
property  of  Mr.  Symes,  the  father  of  the  late  G.  B. 
Symes  Esq.  I  got  possession  in  April,  and  was  soon 
afterwards  joined  by  my  brother,  who  had  succeeded 
in  collecting  the  debts  due  to  me  in  Utica,  in  selling 
my  house  there,  and  settling  my  affairs  generally.  I 
passed  my  first  summer  in  Quebec  without  any  oc- 
currence of  consequence.  I  paid  my  expenses  by 
chance  practice,  and  by  practice  among  the  shipping. 
"In  the  Autumn,  I  determined  to  give  a  course 
of  lectures  and  demonstration  on  Anatomy,  and  to  open 
a  room  for  its  practice.  I  commenced  in  the  cellar 
of  my  house  on  Mountain  Hill,  when  Dr.  Painchaud, 
the  leading  French  practioner,  called  upon  me,  and 
offered  to  give  me,  and  to  heat,  a  small  building  ad- 
joining his  residence,  as  lecture  and  dissecting  rooms, 
on  condition  that  I  gave  to  him  and  to  his  son,  free 
admission.  I  very  gladly  accepted  this  timely  offer, 
and  used  it  for  many  years.  Some  time  afterwards,  a 
circumstance  occurred,  which  although  trivial  in  it- 
self, was  the  means  of  bringing  me  under  the  notice 
of  the  profession.     One  morning,  I  met  Dr.  Morrin, 


132  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

who  told  me  that  an  important  operation  was  about 
to  be  performed  at  the  Hotel  Dieu  Hospital,  and,  as  I 
was  fond  of  surgery,  that  I  might  like  to  witness  it. 
He  said  that  the  operation  was  to  be  performed  at 
10  o'clock,  that  he  would  meet  me  there,  and  intro- 
duce me.  I  was  there  punctually,  but  not  Dr.  Mor- 
rin;  several  medical  men  were  present.  When  the 
patient  was  brought  into  the  room,  he  presented  an 
arm,  which  had  been  crushed  in  a  threshing  machine, 
from  the  fingers  to  nearly  the  shoulder.  There  was 
a  good  deal  of  handling  and  discussion  as  to  the 
means  of  arresting  the  bleeding,  there  being  hardly 
space  for  a  tourniquet.  As  I  was  a  stranger  to  all 
present,  I  did  not  like  to  give  an  opinion  unasked;  at 
length  I  said  to  Dr.  Hall,  the  operator,  that  I  thought 
the  best  mode  would  be  to  remove  the  arm  at  the 
shoulder  joint,  there  would  then  be  a  better  stump, 
and  no  danger  of  it  projecting,  under  the  action  of  the 
deltoid  muscle.  Dr.  Parant,  one  of  the  gentlemen 
present  turned  sharply  round  to  me,  and  exclaimed, 
'Who  are  you,  and  what  do  you  know  about  it.'  I 
replied  that  it  was  an  operation  which  I  had  already 
performed,  and  if  the  gentleman  would  accept  of  my 
assistance,  I  would  secure  the  patient  from  any  risk 
of  hemorrage.  Dr.  Hall  was  delighted  at  the  idea. 
I  said  to  him,  'If  you  raise  a  flap  of  the  deltoid,  I 
will  secure  the  articular  arteries,  you  can  then  open 
the  joint,  and  separate  the  head  of  the  humerus  from 
its  attachments,  while  I  make  pressure  on  the  axillary 
artery. '  Dr.  Hall  adopted  the  mode  of  operation,  and 
performed  it  remarkably  well.  The  patient  recov- 
ered without  the  occurrence  of  any  bad  symptom. 


MY  FATHER'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    133 

"The  first  years  of  my  life  in  Quebee,  were  years 
of  unalloyed  happiness  and  prosperity. 

"During  the  winter  of  1828-9,  I  suffered  from  an 
attack  of  typhus  fever,  in  its  most  malignant  form, 
and  only  escaped  death  at  the  last  hour,  by  the  inter- 
vention of  Dr.  Bone,  the  Chief  of  the  Army  Medical 
Department.  My  severe  and  protracted  illness,  caused 
the  loss  of  my  beloved  wife,  whose  unremitting  care 
and  watchfulness  undermined  a  constitution  not  nat- 
urally strong,  and  induced  disease  of  the  lungs,  which 
terminated  her  existence. 

"My  medical  and  surgical  practice  at  this  time,  had 
become  extensive  and  remunerative.  My  operations 
on  club-feet  and  for  the  cure  of  squinting,  had 
brought  me  into  some  notice,  when  the  reports  of  the 
appearance  of  Asiatic  Cholera  in  Europe,  and  its  rav- 
ages in  Sunderland,  caused  much  speculation  and  some 
alarm  in  Canada.  The  British  Government  wrote 
to  the  Governour  General  in  Quebec,  notifying  him  of 
its  existence  and  spread  in  England,  and  recommend- 
ing him  to  adopt  such  precautionary  or  other  meas- 
ures as  might  be  deemed  necessary.  The  matter  was 
placed  in  the  hands  of  Dr.  Skey,  the  Inspector  of 
Military  Hospitals  in  Canada,  to  report  on,  or  to 
suggest  what  action,  if  any,  should  be  taken.  In  the 
meanwhile,  I  had  taken  the  alarm,  and  adopted  meas- 
ures for  the  protection  of  my  own  family.  At 
length,  Dr.  Skey  thought  fit  to  call  a  meeting  of 
Medical  men,  of  magistrates,  and  of  the  principal  citi- 
zens. He  addressed  them  at  length,  saying,  that  no 
danger  was  to  be  apprehended  from  the  cholera 
which  could  not  cross  the  Atlantic,  but,  they  would 


134  MY  FATHER 'S  JOURNAL 

improve  the  occasion  by  cleaning  the  streets,  the 
yards,  and  abating  sundry  nuisances.  I  listened  at- 
tentively to  these  remarks,  and  requesting  to  be  heard, 
I  said  that  I  thought  it  probable  that  the  cholera 
would  come  to  Quebec.  Dr.  Skey  exclaimed,  'Are 
you  so  foolish  as  to  think  that  the  cholera  can  cross 
the  Atlantic?'  I  replied,  'I  am  foolish  enough  to 
think  so.'  I  then  said  that  returning  from  India, 
cholera  had  broken  out  on  the  ship  on  the  tenth  day 
after  leaving  Saugor  Island,  that  the  last  case  had 
occurred  on  the  tenth  day  after  its  first  appearance 
on  board,  and  that  ten  days  more,  would  allow  it  to 
be  transplanted  in  America.  I  said,  'I  am  so  con- 
vinced that  the  cholera  will  cross  the  Atlantic,  that 
I  have  engaged  the  cabin  of  Capt.  N.  Allard's 
schooner  to  convey  my  wife  and  family  to  a  remote 
point  in  Gasp6,  as  soon  as  navigation  opens.  These 
remarks  were  like  the  bursting  of  a  bomb  shell  on 
the  meeting;  Dr.  Skey,  who  was  a  thorough  English 
gentleman  of  the  old  school,  again  addressed  it,  say- 
ing, that  he  thought  it  should  be  the  duty  of  the 
Government,  and  of  the  civic  authorities,  to  take  the 
necessary  precautionary  measures,  to  meet  the  pes- 
tilence, in  case  it  should  cross  the  ocean,  although  he 
still  thought  it  more  than  doubtful. 

"About  the  middle  of  April  in  1832,  and  before  the 
opening  of  the  navigation  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  I 
saw  a  case  of  blue  cholera  in  a  labouring  man,  re- 
siding in  Diamond  Harbour.  Early  in  May,  and  be- 
fore the  opening  of  the  navigation,  I  saw  two  other 
cases  in  the  same  neighbourhood,  but  not  in  the  same 
house;  I  called  my  friends  Drs.  Morrin  and  Rowley 


MY  FATHER'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    135 

to  visit  them,  they  were  sceptical,  but  confessed  that 
they  had  never  seen  similar  symptoms  before.  All 
three  of  these  cases  died.  I  was  fully  convinced  that 
their  eases  were  of  the  true  Asiatic  cholera,  such  as 
I  had  witnessed  in  India. 

' '  The  citizens  of  Quebec,  who  woke  up  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  8th.  June,  found  the  Upper  town,  the 
Lower  town,  and  the  different  suburbs,  dotted  with  the 
bodies  of  the  dead  and  dying.  It  would  require  the 
pen  of  Defoe  to  describe  the  awful  sights  and  scenes 
of  death,  sin,  and  misery  which  I  witnessed  during 
that  awful  visitation  of  the  cholera  in  Quebec.  Que- 
bec and  its  suburbs,  about  that  time,  contained  about 
30,000  inhabitants;  the  mortality  was  between  1  and 
4,000.  Many  however,  out  of  this  number,  were  sea- 
men and  immigrants. 

"It  is  a  curious,  but,  I  believe  a  well  established 
fact,  that  in  visitations  of  the  plague,  cholera,  and 
other  widespread  scenes  of  desolation;  misery  and 
death ;  crime,  debauchery  and  recklessness  of  life,  have 
prevailed  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  death  and 
suffering.  This  certainly  was  the  case  in  Quebec,  dur- 
ing the  cholera  of  the  year  1832. 

"The  discussions  with  the  Board  of  Health,  and 
my  so  strongly  expressed  convictions,  during  the 
winter,  that  the  Asiatic  cholera  would  assuredly  visit 
Quebec,  induced  many  persons  to  believe,  when  it 
did  come,  that  I  having  had  experience  of  the  dis- 
ease in  India,  knew  more  about  it,  and  its  treatment, 
than  any  one  else  in  the  City.  This  impression  led 
to  my  temporary,  and  in  very  many  cases,  to  my  per- 
manent medical  connexion  with  many  of  the  first 


136  MY  FATHER 'S  JOURNAL 

families  in  Quebec.  I  was  therefore  so  constantly- 
occupied,  that  during  the  season  I  rarely,  if  ever, 
had  an  undisturbed  night's  rest.  I  was  greatly  as- 
sisted by  a  younger  brother,  Richard,  who  had  come 
out  from  Scotland  to  replace  my  brother  George,  he 
having  taken  office  at  the  Quarantine  station  at 
Grosse  Isle. 

"It  is  a  fact  which  I  have  heard  confirmed  by 
medical  men,  that,  when  mind  or  body,  or  both,  are 
exhausted  by  long  continued  strain  upon  their  ener- 
gies, that  their  tone  is  more  quickly  restored  by  en- 
gaging in  some  occupation  or  amusement,  sometimes 
quite  foreign  to  the  usual  habits  of  the  individual.  I 
was  always  passionately  fond  of  trout  fishing,  and  fre- 
quently indulged  myself  with  an  afternoon's  sport 
in  the  Montmorencie  river.  One  afternoon,  during 
the  height  of  the  cholera,  my  friend,  Dr.  Caldwell 
came  into  my  house,  and  finding  me  lying  down,  ut- 
terly exhausted  and  worn  out,  said,  that  he  was  going 
to  the  river  with  Mr.  Rogers,  and  that  I  must  go  with 
them;  I  exclaimed,  'What,  go  fishing  with  the  town 
in  its  present  state,  I  could  not  think  of  such  a 
thing.'  He  replied,  'Why  what  use  are  you  to  the 
town,  you  are  regularly  done  up.'  I  went  with  them 
and  returned  able  to  resume  my  work. 

"Frequently  afterwards,  when  worn  out  with  men- 
tal exertion  and  the  want  of  sleep,  I  have  started  off 
to  the  river,  and  leaving  my  horse  and  cart  at  La- 
motte  's,  have  luxuriated  in  a  couple  of  hours  of  wading 
and  trout  fishing  at  the  Sable,  Three  Falls,  or  the 
Prairie.  This  change  invariably,  completely  and  at 
once,  restored  my  energies  both  of  mind  and  body.    At 


MY  FATHER'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    137 

this  time,  the  time  of  which  I  write,  now  more  than 
forty  years  ago,  there  was  only  an  Indian  trail  through 
the  woods  beyond  Lamotte's,  and  anglers  from  town, 
rarely  went  higher  than  La  Prairie.  The  best  pools 
and  rapids  had  been  named  by  the  Indians,  Falbosse, 
Canoe,  Grande  Roche,  Petite  Roche,  Grand  Peche,  etc., 
etc.  The  trout  were  very  fine,  their  size  and  game 
qualities  would  have  delighted  old  Isaac  Walton. 
Alas,  all  this  has  passed  away  like  a  dream  or  like  a 
tale  that  is  told;  there  is  now,  along  the  banks  of 
the  river,  a  capital  road,  leading  to  an  Irish  settle- 
ment named  Laval,  situated  above  the  upper  fishing 
grounds  of  former  days,  and  instead  of  taking  a  bas- 
ket of  trout,  weighing  from  half  a  pound  to  four,  and 
occasionally  to  six  pounds  each,  the  angler  does  well 
or  thinks  he  does  well,  if  he  takes  a  dozen  fish,  the 
largest  of  which  does  not  exceed  one  quarter  of  a 
pound  in  weight."  One  has  only  to  go  fifteen  miles 
above  Laval  to  get  as  good  fishing  as  my  father  got 
70  years  ago.  ''Snipe,  forty  and  fifty  years  ago  were 
plentiful  on  the  beaches  near  Quebec;  a  very  good 
bag  could  always  be  made  up  at  St.  Pierre  on  the 
Island,  or  on  the  beach  at  Chateau  Richer. 

"After  the  great  amount  of  sickness  and  death  from 
the  cholera,  which  prevailed  in  Canada  during  the 
summer  and  Autumn  of  1832,  and  which  seemed  to 
have  carried  off  among  its  3,200  victims  all  those  sickly 
or  prone  to  disease,  the  following  winter  season  was  an 
unusually  healthy  one,  and  found  me  with  an  intense 
desire  to  repair  the  damage  which  both  my  mental 
and  physical  powers  had  received  from  the  drain  upon 
them,  during  the  previous  summer  and  autumn. 


138  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

"I  thought  that  perhaps  the  best  mode,  or  the 
mode  best  suited  to  my  natural  tastes,  would  be  to 
throw  physic  to  the  dogs  for  a  few  days  and  explore 
the  virgin  forests,  among  the  hills  to  the  North  of 
Quebec.  The  Huron  tribe  of  Indians  had  their  vil- 
lage, named  Lorette,  about  seven  miles  from  Quebec, 
some  of  their  hunters  had  found  a  yard,  or,  as  they 
called  it  a  'ravage'  of  moose  deer,  in  the  forest, 
about  50  miles  to  the  North  of  Quebec.  I  agreed  to 
accompany  them  to  the  hunt  as  soon  as  the  snow  was 
sufficiently  deep,  and  the  usual  crust  had  been  formed 
on  its  surface.  This  crust  is  formed  by  a  two  or 
three  days  thaw,  and  subsequent  frost,  which  makes 
progress  very  pleasant  and  easy  to  the  hunter,  but 
very  difficult  and  unpleasant  to  the  moose,  as  the  crust, 
through  which  it  breaks,  impedes  its  progress,  but 
enables  the  hunter  on  his  snow  shoes  to  overtake  it 
in  a  couple  of  hours,  more  or  less,  according  to  the 
depth  of  the  snow,  and  the  thickness  or  thinness  of  the 
crust.  The  depth  of  snow  in  the  woods,  to  the  North 
of  Quebec,  may  be  considered  to  be  five  or  six  feet, 
in  the  end  of  February.  I  speak  now  of  fifty  years 
ago,  since  then,  the  depth  of  snow  has  sensibly 
diminished. 

"The  band  or  family  of  moose,  consisting  of  the 
male  and  female,  with  generally,  two  young  ones,  re- 
spectively of  the  ages  of  one  and  two  years,  takes  up 
its  winter  quarters,  or  makes  its  'ravage,'  on  the 
southerly  side  of  some  low  hill  covered  by  hardwood 
trees,  the  outer  bark  of  these  trees  being  the  only 
food  during  the  winter.  This,  from  the  high  con- 
dition of  the  animals,  seems  to  be  amply  sufficient 


MY  FATHER'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    139 

for  their  wants.  During  the  Spring  and  Summer,  their 
supply  of  food  is  most  abundant,  as  well  from  the 
bark,  as  from  the  young  wood  and  the  leaves  of  the 
trees.  There  is  no  grass,  and  even  if  there  were,  the 
short  neck,  the  long  legs,  and  the  great  height  of  the 
moose  deer,  would  prevent  his  reaching  it.  At  all 
seasons,  a  full  grown  male  moose,  is  a  magnificent 
specimen  of  the  deer  tribe,  particularly  so,  during 
the  Summer  and  Autumn  months.  His  horns  are  pal- 
mated,  and  of  great  size.  I  possessed  a  pair,  which 
including  the  frontal  bone,  had  a  spread  of  upwards 
of  six  feet.  I  gave  them  to  Captain  Yansittart  of 
the  Coldstream  Guards,  and  have  not  been  able  to  re- 
place them  by  a  pair  measuring  more  than  4  ft.  8 
in.    These  I  still  keep. 

"The  flesh  of  the  moose  in  tenderness,  in  delicacy 
of  flavour  and  in  juicyness,  excels  that  of  any  of  the 
deer  tribe  with  which  I  am  acquainted,  and  1  have 
eaten  venison  in  all  quarters  of  the  globe.  During 
the  winters  in  Canada,  I  was  always  kept  abundantly 
supplied  by  my  friends,  the  Indians  of  Lorette. 

"In  February  I  started  with  a  party  of  four  In- 
dians; and  after  a  drive  in  country  sleighs  of  about 
thirty  miles,  we  arrived  at  a  small  deserted  log  hut, 
on  the  edge  of  the  primeval  forest,  where  we  passed 
the  night.  Early  in  the  morning,  we  started  on  our 
snowshoes,  in  Indian  fyle,  two  of  the  Indians  drag- 
ging long  narrow  sledges,  called  toboggans,  on  which 
we  carried  our  provisions,  our  cooking  utensils,  our 
blankets,  and  some  steel  traps  for  catching  beaver.  "We 
were  accompanied  by  two  small  yelping,  and  very  ugly 
cur  dogs. 


140  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

"Late  in  the  afternoon,  we  arrived  within  a  couple 
of  miles  of  the  moose,  but  sufficiently  distant  to  avoid 
alarming  them,  where,  choosing  a  snug  sheltered  spot, 
the  Indians  collected  a  quantity  of  light  dry  wood, 
made  a  roaring  fire,  preparations  for  tea  and  a  sub- 
stantial repast.  They  then  erected  a  camp,  thatched 
and  carpeted  it  with  spruce  boughs,  shortly  had  every- 
thing ready  for  a  good  supper  and  a  good  night's  rest, 
both  of  which  I  enjoyed,  as  I  had  seldom  done 
before.  The  next  morning  we  breakfasted  at  day- 
light, and  taking  only  our  guns  and  some  biscuit,  we 
started  for  the  ravage  so  as  to  be  able  to  run  down 
the  moose  before  the  sun  had  got  high  enough  to 
soften  the  light  crust  on  the  snow.  After  a  walk  of 
less  than  an  hour,  Ave  arrived  at  their  yard,  they 
however  had  taken  the  alarm  and  made  off.  We  fol- 
lowed their  track,  which  we  had  no  difficulty  in 
doing,  as  it  was  only  one  deep  furrow  in  the  snow, 
very  narrow  at  the  bottom,  and  three  feet  wide,  or 
nearly  so,  at  the  top.  Now  and  then,  we  could  hear 
the  barking  of  the  little  dogs,  and  could  see  where  the 
moose  had  occasionally  turned  round  to  attack  them. 
After  less  than  an  hour's  hard  running,  we  came  up 
to  them,  they  were  quite  exhausted  and  helpless  from 
the  enormous  muscular  exertions  required  to  force 
their  bodies  through  nearly  six  feet  of  snow,  with 
the  addition  of  a  light  crust  of  ice  on  its  surface. 
There  were  four  of  them,  an  old  bull,  a  full  grown 
female,  and  two  young  ones  of  different  ages.  "When 
they  were  killed,  by  shooting  them,  which  was  a  tame 
piece  of  work,  a  good  fire  was  kindled,  they  were 
cut  up  into  portable  pieces,  and  two  Indians  were  sent 


MY  FATHEE'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    141 

back  for  the  toboggans,  which  had  been  abandoned 
in  the  ravage.  In  the  meanwhile,  the  Indians  who 
had  remained  cooked  and  ate,  and  then  cooked  and  ate 
again,  until  I  was  heartily  ashamed  of  my  own  poor 
performances,  of  which,  at  any  other  time,  I  would 
have  been  proud.  When  the  toboggans  were  brought 
back,  they  were  laden  with  the  mouffles,  the  tongues, 
and  with  the  choicest  pieces  of  the  meat,  the  remainder, 
with  the  skins,  were  buried  under  the  snow,  to  be  re- 
moved by  the  Indians  of  the  village. 

"As  the  Indians  knew  of  the  existence  of  a  lodge 
of  beavers  in  the  forest,  about  two  miles  to  the  "West 
of  our  camp,  and  as  there  was  still  sufficient  daylight 
to  set  the  traps,  which  we  had  brought  for  the  pur- 
pose, they  resolved  at  my  request,  to  do  so  at  once, 
and  thus  enable  me  to  see  a  Beaver  hunt,  and  save  a 
day's  time. 

"After  a  hurried  walk  of  about  a  couple  of  miles, 
we  arrived  at  the  great  and  perfectly  level  plain  and 
clearing  in  the  forest,  where  there  remained  only  here 
and  there,  a  huge  hard-wood  tree,  a  maple,  destitute 
of  foliage  and  of  bark.  This,  the  Indians  told  me,  was 
the  Beaver's  dam,  of  course  at  this  season,  it  was 
covered  over  with  snow. 

"The  Indians  made  a  large  hole  through  this  snow 
at  the  upper  end  of  this  artificial  lake,  and  sunk  three 
traps  similar  in  construction  to  an  ordinary  trap, 
but,  of  a  size  corresponding  to  the  size  and  quality 
of  game  they  were  intended  to  hold.  Each  trap  was 
baited  with  a  piece  of  maple  wood,  which  is  the  or- 
dinary, and  I  believe  is  the  only  natural  food  of  the 
Beaver,  and  not  fish,  as  is  frequently  represented  in 


142  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

picture  and  in  story  books,  and  on  signs.  The  next 
morning,  on  visiting  the  three  traps,  we  found  a 
Beaver  in  each,  there  were  two  full  grown  and  a  young 
one.  After  carefully  taking  off  the  skins,  which  are 
valuable  to  the  fur-dealer,  the  choicest  parts  of  the 
meat  were  packed,  for  carriage  to  the  village,  where 
it  is  considered  by  the  Indians,  to  be  a  delicacy.  I 
saved  the  bony  skulls,  which,  in  their  structure,  and 
in  that  of  jaws  and  teeth,  are  anotomically  very  cu- 
rious and  interesting  to  a  naturalist.  This  was  my 
first  and  my  only  opportunity  of  seeing  an  inhabited 
Beaver  dam,  although  I  have  been  very  many  times 
out  after  Moose,  when  the  snow  was  deep  enough  to 
render  snowshoeing  light  and  easy.  The  band  of  Moose, 
when  disturbed  in  its  ravage,  frequently  separates, 
each  individual  taking  and  keeping  a  separate  track  in 
the  same  direction,  but  within  sight  of  each  other. 
This  of  course,  in  the  deep  snow,  is  attended  by  very 
obvious  consequences,  favourable  to  the  hunter. 

"In  1834,  cholera  again  appeared  in  Quebec,  its 
intensity,  in  individual  cases,  was  certainly  as  great 
as  in  1832,  and  I  could  perceive  no  difference  in  the 
relative  proportions,  between  the  deaths  and  the  re- 
coveries. The  whole  number  of  deaths  reported  in 
the  City,  and  among  the  seamen  and  emigrants,  was 
1800,  which  was  very  little  more  than  one  half  of  the 
number  of  deaths  in  1832. 

"During  the  few  following  years,  my  practice  was 
lucrative,  and  had  increased  so  much,  that  I  was  obliged 
in  a  great  measure,  to  abandon  the  practice  of  the 
Coves  and  shipping.  I  therefore  decided  to  remove 
to  the  Upper  Town.    At  that  time,  a  very  good  house 


MY  FATHER'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    143 

in  the  Place  d'Armes,  the  property  of  Col.  Gugy, 
was  to  let,  but  as  I  was  disposed  to  purchase,  I  waited 
upon  the  Colonel  for  the  purpose.  He  told  me 
frankly,  that  he  was  desirous  to  sell  the  house,  as 
he  was  in  want  of  money,  but,  that  he  could  not  give 
me  a  valid  title ;  if  however,  I  would  give  him  a  half 
of  the  purchase  money,  he  would  secure  me  in  pos- 
session, and  give  me  a  ratification  before  long.  I  ac- 
cepted his  terms,  which  were  faithfully  carried  out 
by  him.  I  may  state  here,  that  since  the  purchase 
here  mentioned,  I  have  had  frequent  transactions 
with  Col.  Gugy  involving  large  amounts  of  money, 
and  that  I  have  never  had  cause  to  doubt  his  word 
or  good  faith. 

"In  the  practice  of  Surgery,  I  have  witnessed 
great  changes  in  the  past  sixty  years.  Many  opera- 
tions for  the  removal  or  the  relief  of  diseases,  or  of 
bodily  infirmities,  are  now  commonly  performed, 
which  were  then  unknown.  The  relief  from  pain, 
during  surgical  operations,  is  still  a  desideratum. 
Many  modes  have  been  tried,  with  but  indifferent 
success;  some  of  them  are  extremely  uncertain  in 
their  effects,  while  others  are  unsafe,  or  are  posi- 
tively dangerous. 

"Mesmerism,  or  Animal  Magnetism,  for  some  time 
was  in  vogue.  It  was  apparently  perfectly  safe,  and 
free  from  any  ill  effects;  its  employment  however, 
was  extremely  uncertain;  few  persons  possessed  suf- 
ficient power  to  render  it  always  available,  and,  even, 
when  one  was  found,  who  possessed  the  required 
power,  the  patient  frequently  could  not  be  brought 


144  MY  FATHER 'S  JOURNAL 

or  kept  under  its  influence.  For  these  reasons  it 
fell  into  disuse. 

' '  One  of  the  first  cases  in  which  I  saw  it  tried,  was 
eminently  successful.  Dr.  Marsden  possessed  con- 
siderable mesmeric  power,  and  assisted  me,  by  exercis- 
ing it  during  the  performance  of  an  operation  which 
was  for  the  excision  of  the  half  of  the  lower  jaw 
bone.  The  patient  was  a  powerful,  a  strong  minded, 
and  a  sensible  man,  about  fifty  years  of  age.  Dr. 
Marsden  mesmerised  him  thoroughly,  while  I  removed 
the  diseased  bone,  an  operation,  which  from  its  pe- 
culiar nature,  occupied  a  much  longer  time  in  its 
performance,  than  an  amputation  of  a  limb.  After 
the  wound  was  dressed,  the  patient  described  his  feel- 
ings during  the  operation,  he  said  that  he  felt  no 
pain,  that  he  was  fully  aware  of  my  dividing  the  soft 
parts,  and  that  he  distinctly  heard  the  sawing  across 
of  the  bone.  There  were  several  medical  men  pres- 
ent, who,  as  well  as  I,  were  delighted  at  the  success 
of  Dr.  Marsden 's  mesmeric  influence  in  obviating  all 
sensations  of  pain  during  so  tedious  and  painful  an 
operation.  We  saw  visions  and  dreamt  dreams  of  do- 
ing away  entirely  with  the  painful  scenes,  so  often 
witnessed  during  surgical  operations,  particularly  in 
the  cases  of  females. 

"A  few  days  afterwards,  I  had  again  an  oppor- 
tunity of  testing  the  power  of  Magnetism.  The  case 
was  that  of  a  young  lady,  with  a  fistula  lacrymalis. 
The  operation  for  its  cure,  was  comparatively  a  pain- 
less one.  Dr.  Marsden  mesmerized  the  lady  again  and 
again,  as  soon  however,  as  I  approached  her,  she 
woke  up  in  an  extremely  nervous  and  excited  state,  I 


MY  FATHER'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    145 

was  consequently  obliged  to  perform  the  operation, 
without  mesmeric  assistance.  When  the  patient  had 
retired,  there  were  differences  of  opinion  expressed, 
as  to  the  causes  of  the  failure.  One  opinion  was, 
the  vicinity  of  the  eye  to  the  sensorium.  Dr.  Mars- 
don  thought  the  cause  was  the  peculiar  nervous  state 
of  the  patient.  He  said,  that  the  day  before  he  had 
mesmerised  a  young  woman,  whom  no  one  could 
awake  without  his  concurrence;  doubts  being  ex- 
pressed, he  then  and  there  went  and  brought  her.  He 
mesmerised  her,  so  that  she  could  not  be  aroused 
by  ordinary  means,  but  as  an  argumentum  crucis, 
although  there  was  nothing  the  matter  with  her  eye, 
I  passed  the  probe  into  the  punctum,  through  the 
duct,  and  withdrew  it  through  the  nostril,  without  pro- 
ducing in  her  any  sign  of  sensation.  Other  modes  of 
removing  or  alleviating  the  pain,  during  surgical  op- 
eration have  been  adopted  from  time  to  time,  none 
however  so  free  from  objection  as  mesmerism.  I  have 
fully  and  faithfully  tried  them.  Chloroform  had  its 
day,  and  was,  and  is  yet  highly  extolled.  I  gave  it  a 
fair  and  extended  trial,  under  various  circumstances 
and  conditions  of  age,  sex  and  disease.  Its  effects  in 
doing  away  intirely,  or,  in  a  great  degree  with  the 
pain  during  surgical  operations,  and  painful  maladies, 
and  even  in  painful  natural  processes,  were  greatly 
extolled.  I  was  fortunate  in  never  meeting  with  a 
case  in  which  its  use  was  followed  by  immediate 
fatal  effects,  but,  I  became  impressed  with  the  con- 
viction, that  its  employment  during  surgical  opera- 
tions was  followed  by  deterioration  of  the  system, 
evinced  by  the  appearance  and  condition  of  the  wounds 


146  MY  FATHEE  'S  JOURNAL 

after  operation.  To  solve  the  question,  I  instituted 
a  series  of  comparisons  in  surgical  cases,  which  were 
as  nearly  similar  to  each  other,  as  possible.  I  placed 
repeatedly  two  patients  after  operation,  in  the  same 
ward,  and  in  the  healing  of  the  wounds  or  stumps,  as 
well  as  in  the  general  state  and  condition  of  the  pa- 
tients, I  perceived  a  marked  difference  in  favour  of 
those  who  had  not  been  subjected  to  the  action  of 
the  chloroform. 

"In  18—  I  was  asked  by  Hammond  Gowan  Esqr. 
and  Dr.  Morrin,  who  were  the  Commissioners  for  the 
Marine  and  Emigrant  Hospital  to  take  the  Medical 
charge  of  the  establishment.  Dr.  Hall  had  died,  the 
steward  had  died,  the  apothecary  had  been  removed 
by  severe  illness,  and  the  house-surgeon  was  then  suf- 
fering from  an  attack  of  delirium  tremens.  I  hesi- 
tated on  account  of  the  demoralized  state  of  the  Hos- 
pital; my  hesitation  was  met  by  a  promise  to  give 
me  the  intire  control  of  the  interne  of  the  establish- 
ment. I  agreed  to  accept,  on  condition  of  having  a 
colleague,  with  whom  I  offered  to  divide  the  salary. 
This  was  acceeded  to,  and  the  Govemour-General,  Lord 
Gosford,  appointed  Dr.  C.  Fremont,  a  young  gentle- 
man who  had  lately  settled  in  the  City,  and  who  was 
an  intire  stranger  to  me.  I  refused  to  accept,  unless 
with  a  Medical  Man  of  my  own  standing  in  the  pro- 
fession. Lord  Gosford  then  appointed  Dr.  Pain- 
chaud,  the  oldest  practitioner  in  the  City,  with  whom 
I  worked  many  years.  To  avoid  misconception,  I 
thought  it  proper  to  call  upon  Dr.  Fremont  and  ex- 
plain my  reasons  for  preferring  a  medical  colleague 
of  older  standing.    He  told  me  frankly,  that  the  ap- 


MY  FATHER'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    147 

pointment  was  owing  to  the  intimate  relations,  be- 
tween his  friends,  the  Messrs.  Pemberton,  and  Lord 
Gosford.  From  that  time,  until  his  death,  my  con- 
nection with  Dr.  Fremont  was  most  intimate.  I 
found  him  to  be  an  honest,  an  upright,  and  a  high- 
minded  gentleman,  and  with  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
his  profession.  As  an  assistant  in  surgical  opera- 
tions, he  was  of  the  greatest  use  to  me  for  many 
years,  as  well  in  hospital,  as  in  private  practice. 

"On  taking  charge  of  the  Hospital,  Dr.  Painchaud 
and  I  divided  the  duties.  I  took  charge  of  the  intire 
surgical  cases,  and  of  one  half  of  the  fever  and  other 
wards,  Dr.  P.  took  the  remainder.  At  this  time,  and 
for  many  years  afterwards,  the  Marine  and  Emigrant 
Hospital,  as  a  school  of  practical  surgery,  was  sec- 
ond to  none  on  this  continent.  Several  circumstances 
tended  to  make  it  so.  There  was  a  large  fleet  en- 
gaged in  the  timber  trade,  the  ships  were  compara- 
tively small,  seldom  exceeding  500  tons;  they  were 
loaded  by  the  seamen,  and  by  the  hired  emigrants  di- 
rected by  and  superintended  by  a  stevedore.  There 
was  no  steam,  and  none  of  the  modern  appliances  for 
hoisting  in,  and  stowing  away,  the  heavy  timber,  which 
was  almost  the  only  cargo  then  shipped.  The  con- 
sequences were,  that  great  numbers  of  fractures  were 
admitted  into  Hospital,  as  well  as  many  which  had 
occurred  in  the  crowded  emigrant  ships,  during  the 
Spring  passage  out. 

"In  the  Summer  season  of  1849,  cholera  again  in- 
vaded Quebec;  its  ravages  however  were  not  so  great 
as  on  its  visitations  in  1832  and  1834,  and  its  compara- 
tive mortality  in  individual  cases,  was  somewhat  less. 


148  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

The  popular  idea  being  that  it  was  intensely  con- 
tagious, particularly  after  death,  no  time  sometimes 
was  lost,  in  hurrying  on  the  interment;  to  facilitate 
this,  the  coffin  was  sometimes  procured,  and  I  have 
reason  to  believe,  was  utilized  before  death.  I  have 
heard  of  patients  recovering,  after  having  been  cof- 
fined, though  I  never  witnessed  a  case.  I  have  how- 
ever more  than  once,  seen  the  coffin  laid  out  in  the 
room,  and  alongside  of  the  patient's  bed,  before  death. 
I  recollect  one  very  marked,  and  very  absurd  case;  a 
young  lady,  whose  father  was  in  a  Government  Office, 
was  very  ill,  I  had  left  her  in  the  blue  stage,  and 
pulseless,  when  I  returned  and  entered  the  room,  per- 
ceiving a  mounted  coffin  on  a  table,  I  was  about  to 
withdraw,  when  the  father  called  out,  '  Come  in,  come 
in,  I  don't  think  she  is  any  worse.'  The  young  lady 
is  now  a  grandmother. 

' '  I  recollect  a  more  absurd  instance,  which  occurred 
during  a  later  visitation  of  the  cholera  to  Quebec. 
Mr.  Swords  had  leased  extensive  buildings  in  St. 
Louis  Street,  as  an  hotel,  they  were  opened  in  the 
Fall,  to  receive  a  party  of  excursionists  from  New 
York.  On  the  night  of  the  arrival  of  the  excur- 
sionists, three  of  them  took  ill  with  cholera,  of  whom 
two  died  before  morning.  About  daybreak,  I  was 
called  to  visit  the  third  case.  On  leaving  my  house, 
I  found  a  number  of  the  lady  and  gentlemen  excur- 
sionists, sitting  upon  my  door  steps,  they  had  rushed 
out  of  Sword's  Hotel,  and  did  not  know  where  to  go. 
On  reaching  the  hotel,  I  found  that  all  the  guests, 
and  most  of  the  servants  had  abandoned  it.  The  pa- 
tient was  Mr.   Benedict,   a  Jeweller  of  New  York. 


MY  FATHER'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    149 

He  was  in  a  very  precarious  state,  and  already  in  the 
blue  stage  of  the  disease.  Mr.  Swords  also  was  in 
a  blue  stage  of  rage,  although  collapse  in  him,  did 
not  come  on  until  some  days  afterwards.  He  in- 
sisted upon  Mr.  Benedict's  immediate  removal;  he 
threatened  to  put  him  out  into  the  street,  I  told  him 
and  if  he  did  so,  and  Mr.  Benedict  died,  I  would  call 
an  inquest  on  his  body,  and  obtain  a  verdict  of  man- 
slaughter. I  got  a  very  good  nurse;  Mr.  B.  rallied, 
and  in  two  or  three  days  afterwards,  was  carried  on  a 
litter  to  the  house  of  that  honest  kind  hearted  soul, 
Mr.  Robert  Symes,  in  Palace  Street,  where  he  per- 
fectly recovered.  On  being  removed  from  Mr. 
Swords,  Mr.  B.  asked  me  to  settle  his  bill.  Among  a 
number  of  usual  and  unusual  items,  was  the  extremely 
unusual  one  for  the  payment  of  a  coffin,  which  Mr. 
Swords  had  purchased  for  Mr.  Benedict's  use.  I 
very  decidedly  objected  to  pay  for  this  item,  on  the 
plea  that  Mr.  B.  had  not  ordered  the  coffin,  and  that 
moreover,  when  ordered,  he  had  very  decidedly  de- 
clined to  use  it.  To  this  argument  Mr.  Swords  re- 
plied, that  he  did  not  require  a  coffin  for  his  own 
use,  that  he  had  procured  it  for  Mr.  Benedict's  use, 
and  insisted  upon  being  paid  for  it.  I  proposed  that 
the  coffin  should  be  kept  for  the  use  of  which  ever 
of  them  should  require  it  first.  Now  although  I  am 
convinced  that  even  Judge  Andrew  Stuart  could  not 
give  a  clearer  or  more  righteous  judgment,  or  at  any 
rate  a  more  unbiased  one,  Mr.  Swords  was  not  sat- 
isfied, but  still  insisted  upon  being  paid  for  it.  I 
at  last  convinced  him  by  saying,  that  I  would  pub- 
lish his  little  bill  in  every  paper  in  the  Union,  and 


150  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

make  him  so  famous,  that  no  traveller  would  in  fu- 
ture visit  Quebec,  without  at  least  looking  at  the 
outside  of  his  hotel. 

"In  the  practice  of  Medical  Men,  cases  occur  where 
their  duty  as  citizens,  and  the  confidence  reposed  in 
them  by  their  patients,  are  strongly  antagonistic. 
For  instance,  cases  of  wilful  murder,  cases  of  as- 
sault with  murderous  intent,  cases  of  poisoning,  and 
other  criminal  acts,  occasionally  come  to  their  knowl- 
edge, when  for  want  of  suspicion,  or  of  proof,  the 
perpetrators  go  unwhipt  of  justice.  Cases  occur,  in 
which,  knowing  all  the  facts  and  the  circumstances,  the 
Medical  Man  is  tempted  to  constitute  himself  the 
judge  in  the  matter.  For  instance,  one  fine  after- 
noon in  summer,  a  very  respectable  tradesman  came 
to  me  in  great  agitation,  with  a  request  that  I  would 
visit  his  wife,  who  was  seriously  hurt.  He  frankly 
told  me,  that  on  returning  to  his  house,  he  had  found 
her  standing  in  the  recess  of  an  attic  window,  quite 
drunk,  and  had  given  her  a  slap  on  the  face,  which  had 
caused  her  to  fall  out  of  the  window.  On  arriving 
at  his  house,  I  found  her  dead.  The  verdict  of  the 
Coroner's  Court,  if  the  Jurors  had  a  knowledge  of 
the  facts,  would  entail  a  verdict  of  manslaughter,  and 
the  incarceration  of  the  husband  in  the  common 
prison  until  the  Session  of  the  Criminal  Court  in 
October,  when  the  result  of  the  trial  would  be  doubt- 
ful. I  advised  him  to  go  at  once  to  Mr.  Panet  the 
coroner  as  sent  by  me,  and  to  let  me  know  when  the 
inquest  would  be  held,  so  that  I  might  be  out  of  the 
way.    He  might  then  trust  to  the  evidence  of  the  neigh- 


MY  FATHER'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    151 

bours,  and  to  his  own  good  character.     A  verdict  of 
accidental  death  was  rendered. 

"As  a  case  of  circumstantial  death  evidence,  that 
of  Dr.  Dill  was  a  very  strong  one.  He  came  from 
Scotland  to  Quebec,  as  the  Master  of  the  School  in 
connection  with  St.  Andrew's  Church.  After  being 
inducted,  he  informed  the  Revd.  Dr.  Cook,  that  he 
was  a  medical  man,  and  desirous  to  practice  at  his 
spare  time,  and  for  that  purpose  required  a  license. 
Dr.  Cook  introduced  him  to  me,  for  the  purpose  of 
getting  information  on  the  matter.  Dr.  Dill  was  a 
tall  and  very  good  looking  man,  but  his  manner  im- 
pressed me  unfavourably.  I  told  him  to  call  upon 
me  the  next  day,  which  he  did,  and  conversation  with 
him  convinced  me  that  he  knew  nothing  whatever  of 
medicine,  and  that  the  diploma  which  he  produced  had 
not  been  obtained  by  him,  through  any  proof  of  his 
knowledge  of  medicine.  I  told  his  friend,  Dr.  Cook  that 
in  my  opinion  Dr.  Dill  was  insane,  and  would  be  likely 
to  be  dangerous.  He  got  a  license,  he  took  a  house, 
fitted  up  an  office,  and  married  a  very  respectable 
young  lady  with  some  property.  One  midnight,  on 
passing,  I  found  his  house  on  fire.  The  doctor,  with 
a  number  of  people,  was  in  the  street;  he  informed 
me  that  he  and  Mrs.  Dill  were  in  bed  when  they  were 
awakened  by  the  smoke,  that  Mrs.  Dill  had  retired 
to  dress,  and  he  supposed  had  gone  to  her  friends. 
The  Doctor  was  quite  cool  and  collected,  he  was 
fully  dressed,  even  to  the  pin  in  his  shirt  front.  The 
house  was  burnt  to  the  ground,  nothing  was  saved, 
and  Mrs.  Dill  was  missing.  Her  remains  were  found 
on  the  crown  of  a  brick  vault  in  the  basement  of  the 


152  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

house,  consequently,  the  back  of  her  body  was  not 
touched  by  the  fire.  The  coloured  silk  dress,  the 
laced  stays,  and  the  underclothing  were  found,  as 
worn  on  the  previous  day,  the  brooch  and  the  finger 
rings  had  not  been  taken  off,  proving  that  the  poor 
lady  had  not  been  in  bed.  The  verdict  of  the  Coro- 
ner's Court,  endorsed  Dr.  Dill's  account  of  the 
night's  work,  with  its  monstrous  discrepancies,  and 
he  was  paid  his  insurances. 

' '  The  murdered  lady 's  brother  in  law,  D.  Mc  Gie  Esq. 
was  not  satisfied.  He  branded  Dr.  Dill  openly  as  a 
murderer  and  an  incendiary.  The  Doctor  did  not  seem 
to  notice  these  charges,  his  friends  however  insisted 
upon  his  clearing  himself  by  bringing  an  action 
against  Mr.  Mc  Gie,  for  defamation  of  character  and 
for  damages.  The  action  was  brought  before  Sir 
James  Stuart;  the  jury  awarded  homeopathic  dam- 
ages, and  Sir  James  expressed  his  opinion  by  refusing 
to  Dr.  Dill  his  costs.  This  verdict  induced  Dr.  Dill 
to  quit  Quebec.  The  next  heard  of  him,  was  a  sen- 
tence of  imprisonment  for  life,  in  the  Penitentiary 
at  Kingston,  U.  C,  for  the  commission  of  a  murder. 
There,  he  was  placed  to  work  in  the  Machine  Shop, 
and  after  a  few  years,  by  the  exercise  of  wonderful  en- 
gineering ingenuity  and  contrivance,  by  manipulating 
the  locks  and  using  the  machinery  belting  as  a  ladder, 
he  managed  to  escape  to  the  United  States,  where  he 
was  safe.  His  insanity  however,  induced  him  to  return 
to  Canada  in  search  of  a  situation  as  a  school-mas- 
ter; he  was  recognized,  and  sent  back  to  the  Peni- 
tentiary, to  end  his  days  there,  which  he  did,  some 


MY  FATHER'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    153 

years  afterwards.     He  was  conspicuous  by  a  heavy 
iron  weight  and  chain,  fastened  to  his  ankle. 

"Merely  circumstantial  evidence  is  sometimes  very 
strong,  and  has  undoubtedly  been  the  means  of  hanging 
many  innocent  persons.  During  my  life,  I  have  wit- 
nessed different  cases,  in  my  own  practice,  which 
might  have  involved  serious  consequences. 

"A  gentleman  of  high  literary  attainments,  and  of 
good  position  in  society  was  subject  to  fits  of  un- 
governable passion  on  very  slight  causes.  His  wife 
was  a  most  amiable  person.  On  one  occasion,  after 
a  very  noisy  and  violent  altercation,  of  which  the  serv- 
ant was  a  witness,  he  retired  to  a  separate  apart- 
ment. During  the  night,  his  wife  hearing  him  breath- 
ing heavily,  entered  his  room,  and  was  horrified  on 
finding  him  insensible,  and  apparently  dying.  She 
at  once  roused  the  servant,  but  without  explaining 
her  reason,  sent  her  for  me.  When  the  girl  had  left 
the  house,  she  placed  the  lighted  candle  near  the 
bed,  and  while  endeavouring  to  raise  her  husband's 
head,  ignited  the  bed  curtains,  which  were  instantly 
in  a  blaze.  With  great  presence  of  mind,  she  suc- 
ceeded in  extinguishing  the  flames.  On  my  arrival, 
I  found  upon  the  dressing  table,  an  empty  phial, 
which  had  contained  laudanum.  Had  she  not  torn 
down  the  curtains  and  succeeded  in  putting  out  the 
flames  she  could  never  have  relieved  herself  of  the 
suspicion  of  having  murdered  her  husband,  and  of  hav- 
ing sent  the  servant  out  of  the  house  on  a  false  errand, 
while  she  set  fire  to  the  house,  to  cover  up  the  crime. 

"During  the  session  of  the  Court  of  Queen's  bench, 
in  the  spring  of  1845,  the  grand  jurors  made  a  very 


154  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

strong  presentment  on  the  treatment  of  the  insane. 
During  the  French  dominion  in  Canada  and  since 
its  conquest  by  the  British  the  insane  had  been  ex- 
clusively in  the  charge  of  the  nuns,  or  the  religious 
ladies,  as  they  are  commonly  called.  Some  mem- 
bers of  the  Government,  speaking  to  me  on  the  sub- 
ject, I  said,  that  I  had  never  seen  the  interior  of  the 
convents,  but  I  thought  that  their  inmates,  particu- 
larly the  insane,  would  be  benefited  by  the  disuse 
of  the  confinement,  and  of  such  severe  treatment. 
Attempts  to  provide  a  suitable  place  for  them,  hav- 
ing failed,  I  agreed  to  take  charge  of  them  for  a 
period  of  three  years  on  an  understanding  that  the 
Government  would  then  have  a  suitable  place  pro- 
vided for  them. 

"I  at  once  leased  Darnoe,  the  property  of  Col. 
Gugy,  and  commenced  to  put  it  in  order.  I  asked 
Dr.  Morrin  to  join  me  in  the  undertaking,  but  he 
absolutely  refused.  I  then  took  my  friend  Dr. 
Fremont  as  a  partner,  engaging  to  stand  between 
him  and  any  pecuniary  loss  should  there  be  any  such. 
After  the  establishment  was  in  good  working  order, 
Dr.  Morrin,  who  had  taken  much  interest  in  it,  pro- 
posed to  join  us,  and  induced  Dr.  Fremont  to  divide 
his  share  with  him.  This  arrangement  continued 
until  the  bonds  which  united  us  in  the  management 
of  the  institution  were  severed  by  their  deaths. 
After  this  brief  statement  of  the  origin  of  the  Que- 
bec Lunatic  Asylum,  and  of  my  peculiar  connection 
with  it,  I  cannot  do  better  than  give  a  copy  of  our 
report  to  the  Government  at  the  end  of  the  three 
years. 


MY  FATHER'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    155 

"The  close  of  the  navigation  of  the  year  1846 
was  very  disastrous  to  the  shipping  in  the  St.  Law- 
rence. Two  or  three  of  the  last  ships  leaving  Quebec 
were  met  in  the  Gulf  by  a  heavy  easterly  snow 
storm,  and  were  driven  and  totally  wrecked  on  the 
north  shore,  where  there  were  neither  inhabitants 
nor  shelter.  There  was  great  loss  of  life  and  several 
of  the  crews  were  more  or  less  frozen,  before  being 
able  to  shelter  themselves.  Fearing  what  might  oc- 
cur and  had  actually  occurred,  the  Canadian  Govern- 
ment sent  down  a  small  steamer  to  the  relief  of  any 
of  the  crews  who  might  have  escaped.  Many  were 
found  and  among  them  several  with  frozen  extremi- 
ties, who  were  placed  in  the  Hospital.  The  number 
and  the  variety  of  the  operations  required  brought 
together  a  strong  muster  of  medical  men  and  stu- 
dents. Three  of  the  operations  in  particular,  named 
after  the  celebrated  French  surgeon  Chop  art,  and 
strongly  recommended  by  my  old  preceptors,  Liston 
and  Syme,  of  Edinburgh.  After  operating  on  sev- 
eral of  the  sailors  with  frozen  legs,  I  was  about  to 
amputate  a  thigh,  when  imagining  that  the  point  of 
my  catlin  was  not  very  fine,  I  held  it  up  to  the  light 
and  felt  it  with  the  point  of  my  finger.  I  found  it 
sharp  enough  and  proceeded  with  my  operations. 
After  all  were  finished,  I  washed  my  hands  and  felt 
a  slight  tingling  on  the  point  of  my  finger,  where  I 
had  touched  the  Catlin.  I  found  that  I  had  raised 
the  cuticle,  without,  however,  drawing  blood.  I  very 
foolishly  sucked  the  wound  and  squeezed  out  of  it  a 
drop  of  blood  as  big  as  a  pin's  head.  During  the 
day  the  tingling  continued  without  intermission.   The 


156  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

next  day  it  had  increased  considerably,  my  finger 
was  becoming  exquisitely  painful,  and  the  absorbents 
in  the  whole  length  of  the  arm  were  inflamed  and  in- 
flammation of  the  mouth  and  throat  had  supervened, 
caused,  I  have  no  doubt,  by  the  contact  of  the  poison 
when  I  sucked  the  wound.  These  symptoms  in- 
creased with  severe  general  spasms  and  deterioration 
of  the  whole  system,  which  reduced  me  to  a  skeleton, 
and  to  death's  door.  I  recovered,  after  some  weeks, 
with  the  loss  of  my  sense  of  smell,  with  a  great 
loss  of  my  sense  of  taste,  with  a  shrunken  forefinger 
and  with  the  prospect  of  a  shortened  life.  It  is  a 
curious  fact  that  the  patients  on  whom  I  had  oper- 
ated, including  the  one  who  had  furnished  the  viru- 
lent animal  poison,  with  which  I  had  been  inoculated, 
all  did  well,  without  appearance  of  any  bad  or  un- 
toward symptom  among  them. 

"After  my  recovery,  feeling  unable  to  meet  the 
demands  of  my  practice,  I  took  as  a  partner  Dr. 
Racey,  who,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh, was  of  high  professional  attainments,  and  of 
most  amiable  character.  During  the  following  win- 
ter and  spring  the  accounts  of  the  ravages  of  the 
fever  in  Ireland,  the  prospects  of  a  very  greatly  in- 
creased immigration,  and  in  my  opinion,  the  certainty 
of  a  great  amount  of  cases  of  typhus,  among  both  the 
cabin  and  the  steerage  passengers,  induced  us  to 
establish  a  private  hospital  for  the  treatment  of  mas- 
ters of  vessels  and  of  cabin  passengers,  who  would 
object  to  go  into  crowded  public  hospitals,  and  who 
would  be  refused  admission  into  private  houses.  We 
accordingly  leased  a  large  house   on  the  Beauport 


MY  FATHER'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    157 

beach,  and  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  shipping.  Our 
prognostics  were  fully  verified;  the  vessels  arrived, 
crowded  with  cases  of  typhus.  The  hospitals  and  the 
temporary  sheds,  both  at  Grosse  Isle  and  at  Quebec 
were  inadequate  for  the  admission  of  the  seamen 
and  emigrants,  and,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
hotels  and  private  houses  very  prudently  refused  to 
receive  cases  of  virulent  contagious  fever. 

"Our  private  hospital  was  very  soon  found  to  be 
too  small,  and  we  leased  the  large  and  commodious 
dwelling  house  and  premises  connected  with  the  old 
breweries  at  Beauport.  In  these  two  private  hospi- 
tals we  admitted  and  treated  during  the  summer,  one 
hundred  and  sixty-five  cases  of  typhus  fever,  of 
whom  four  died,  three  of  them  from  the  immediate 
effects  of  the  fever,  and  one  from  paralysis,  after  re- 
covering from  the  danger  of  the  fever.  Our  fees 
and  charges  were  four  dollars  per  diem;  these  in- 
cluded all  expenses  of  medical  treatment,  medicines, 
nursing,  etc.  Our  treatment  was  extremely  simple. 
On  admission  the  patient  was  placed  in  a  tepid  bath, 
in  which  he  was  thoroughly  shampooed  and  scrubbed 
with  soap  and  a  coarse  towel,  clean  sheets  and  body 
linen,  very  frequently  changed;  thorough  ventilation, 
diluent  drinks;  a  staff  of  excellent  nurses,  and  oc- 
casionally medicine,  were  our  modes  of  treatment. 
We  were  very  sparing  in  the  use  of  drugs,  for  al- 
though we  were  not  homeopathists,  we  decidedly  pre- 
ferred administering  them,  when  necessary,  with  a 
teaspoonful  instead  of  a  shovel. 

"It  would  be  folly  in  me  to  state  that  in  establish- 
ing this  hospital,  Dr.  Racey  and  I  were  not  mainly 


158  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

influenced  by  pecuniary  views  and  profits.  These 
certainly  were  our  first  considerations,  but  at  the 
same  time  we  were  desirous  to  shew  practically  that 
typhus  fever  in  its  worst  forms,  could  be  deprived 
of  a  great  part  of  its  malignancy  and  terrors.  We 
fully  succeeded  in  both  of  these  views. 

"At  this  time  the  British  government,  being  aware 
of  the  fearful  ravages  of  the  typhus  fever  among  the 
seamen  and  immigrants  on  their  passage  to  Canada, 
had  sent  out  Col.  Calvert,  an  old  and  distinguished 
military   officer,   who  had   placed  in  his   charge    a 

Monsieur  L f  a  French  chemist,  the  discoverer  and 

patentee  of  a  reputed  wonderful  disinfectant,  which 
was  said  to  have  the  effect  of  purifying  the  atmos- 
phere of  a  fever  ward,  and  doing  away  with  the  dan- 
ger of  infection  from  all  and  sundry  diseases  of  an  in- 
fectious or  contagious  nature.    M.  L fully  tested 

his  specific  in  the  wards  of  the  Marine  Hospital.  It 
certainly  had  the  effect  of  doing  away  with  the  close 
and  disagreeable  smells  which  had  prevailed  in  the 
wards  and  closets,  but  its  active  ingredient  being  a 
solution  of  nitrate  of  lead,  its  inhalation,  in  my  opin- 
ion, had  an  injurious  effect  on  the  patients.  For  this 
reason  I  was  averse  to  its  use  in  the  Beauport  hos- 
pitals. 

"Dr.  Racey  took  ill  with  typhus  fever,  but  appar- 
ently not  of  a  virulent  type.  He  was  most  assidu- 
ously  attended   by   Col.   Calvert  and  Mons.   L , 

whose  solution  was  very  liberally  used.  It  was 
sprinkled  on  the  floor  and  bedding  and  cloths  wetted 
with  it  were  kept  constantly  applied  to  the  head  and 
chest.    It  was  in  vain  that  his  friends  and  I  argued 


MY  FATHER'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    159 

against  its  so  liberal  use,  especially  in  his  own  par- 
ticular case,  lying,  as  he  did,  in  a  large,  airy  and  well 
ventilated  apartment.  He  was  obdurate  and  would 
listen  to  no  argument  or  representation.  I  am  con- 
vinced that  he  used  it  as  a  prophylactic  and  disin- 
fectant, solely  with  a  view  to  the  protection  of  his 
family  from  the  contagion  of  the  fever.  He  was  to 
me  an  irreparable  loss.  He  was  a  most  efficient  and 
valuable  partner.  He  possessed  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  medicine,  of  anatomy  and  of  surgery.  He 
was  a  skilful  operating  surgeon,  and  had  he  not  been 
removed  by  death,  would  have  secured  a  high  posi- 
tion in  the  profession.  His  loss  to  his  family  and  to 
his  friends  was  irreparable. 

"The  next,  and  about  the  last  prominent  victim 
of  this  foul  distemper,  was  Col.  Calvert  himself.  I 
was  called  to  him  in  the  preliminary  stage  of  the 
disease,  and  as  he  could  not  be  permitted  to  remain 
in  the  Hotel,  I  had  him  removed  to  my  own  house, 
and  placed  in  the  care  of  a  faithful  and  excellent 
nurse.  Col.  Calvert  was  a  tall,  handsome,  military 
looking  gentleman,  apparently  about  seventy  years 
of  age.  He  was,  and  evidently  had  been,  a  free  liver, 
though  by  no  means  intemperate  in  his  habits.  He  was 
fully  aware  of  his  imminent  danger,  and  met  it 
coolly  and  manfully.  He  must  naturally  have  pos- 
sessed great  presence  of  mind,  even  when  he  was  'in 
extremis,'  he  gave  me  an  extraordinary  proof  of  this 
quality.  In  the  last  stage  of  the  disease,  when  semi- 
conscious,  and  apparently  quite  unconscious,  Mons. 

L entered   his  room,   and   perceiving   his   state 

and  condition,  he  sent  the  nurse  down  stairs,  on  some 


160  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

pretence,  and  then  rifled  his  pockets  and  his  valise. 
This  roused  up  Col.  Calvert,  who  watched  the  pro- 
ceeding without  making  any  sign,  or  evincing  any 
symptom  of  consciousness.  On  my  visiting  him 
shortly  afterwards,  he  managed  to  tell  me  the  cir- 
cumstances, and  soon  lapsed  into  total  insensibility, 
from  which  he  never  emerged.  In  the  meanwhile,  I 
had  sent  for  L and  charged  him  with  the  rob- 
bery; he  of  course  stoutly  denied  it  until  I  was 
fully  prepared  with  proof  of  the  act  by  a  witness 
to  the  transaction,  and  if  he  did  not  at  once  restore 
the  stolen  money,  I  would  expose  him  to  the  conse- 
quences. I  told  him  that  his  theft,  if  not  detected, 
would  have  exposed  my  servants  to  the  gravest  sus- 
picions, which  it  would  have  been  impossible  for 
them  to  explain  or  to  remove.  Monsieur  L re- 
stored the  stolen  money,  and  he  took  my  advice  to 
visit  the  United  States  with  as  little  delay  as  was 
possible.  I  told  him  that  I  would  state  the  facts  to 
the  Government  and  to  Col.  Calvert's  friends,  and  he 
might  explain  them  as  well  as  he  was  able.  Thus 
ended  the  episode  of  the  famous  disinfecting  fluid, 
of  which  I  have  never  since  heard  anything. 

"Col.  Calvert's  death  led  to  the  establishment  of 
the  Mount  Hermon  Cemetary.  He  was  interred  in 
the  Protestant  burying  ground  in  St.  John's  Suburbs, 
This  was  small  and  excessively  crowded.  A  great 
part  of  it  had  been  covered  by  huge  stone  slabs,  a 
great  part  was  enclosed  as  private  lots,  and  the  re- 
mainder was  crowded  by  the  deposit  of  the  Protest- 
ant dead  since  the  Conquest  of  the  Province,  and 
notably  during  the  visitations  of  the  Cholera  and  of 


MY  FATHER'S  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE    161 

the  fever.  Before  removing  Col.  Calvert's  remains 
to  the  burying  ground,  I  called  upon  that  zealous 
and  faithful  servant  of  the  church,  Mr.  John  Ricaby, 
anent  the  grave ;  he  pointed  it  out  to  me,  and  he  told 
me  that  he  had  been  obliged  to  disturb  the  remains 
of  two  bodies,  one  of  them  that  of  an  unknown  man, 
and  the  other,  that  of  a  Colonel  Impey.  He  pointed 
out  the  remains  under  a  small  pile  of  earth.  Some 
time  afterwards,  in  conversation  with  Mr.  Jeffry 
Hale,  I  mentioned  the  disgracefully  crowded  state 
of  the  burying  ground,  and  told  him  what  I  had  seen. 
This  conversation  led  to  others,  in  which  that  ener- 
getic and  sincere  friend,  Mr.  Hale,  Mr.  C.  Wur- 
tele,  and  some  other  friends  joined,  and  led  to  the 
establishment  of  the  Mount  Hermon  Cemetery. 

"Twenty-five  years  and  more  have  passed  away 
since  this  memorable  fever  harvested  its  victims.  A 
few,  and  only  a  very  few,  of  the  medical  men  yet 
remain  who  witnessed  its  horrors,  and  the  scenes  of 
desolation,  of  misery,  of  death  and  of  distress,  caused 
by  its  ravages.  Although  in  impaired  health  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  pestilence,  and  though  constantly  en- 
gaged in  attendance  upon  the  sick,  with  rarely  an 
undisturbed  night's  rest,  I  gained  health  and 
strength.  I  attribute  this  in  some,  if  not  in  a  great 
measure,  to  my  habit  of  going  trout  fishing  twice  a 
week.  I  used  to  leave  town  about  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  and  throwing  'physic  to  the  dogs'  I 
drove  to  the  Montmorenci  River;  I  waded  deeply, 
and  fished  with  the  fly,  for  two  or  three  hours;  on 
returning,  I  took  tea  with  my  family  at  Glenalla,  and 
then  resumed  my  duties  in  town. 


162  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

"During  the  two  following  years  my  health  and 
strength  remained  tolerably  good,  until  the  summer 
of  1850,  when  I  became  troubled  with  a  bronchitie 
cough,  which  induced  me  to  leave  Canada,  and  to 
spend  the  following  winter  season  in  the  South  of 
Italy.  I  accordingly  went  there,  accompanied  by 
my  friend,  Mr.  Gilmore,  whose  health  had  become 
impaired  by  too  close  attention  to  an  extensive  busi- 
ness. We  spent  the  winter  in  the  South  of  Italy, 
principally  between  Naples  and  Rome  and  we  re- 
turned to  Canada  in  the  Spring.  Mr.  Gilmore  was 
perfectly  restored  to  health.  As,  however,  I  had  not 
succeeded  in  getting  rid  of  my  cough,  I  determined 
to  retire  altogether  from  the  private  practice  of  my 
profession,  to  abandon  my  town  residence,  to  spend 
the  summer  months  at  Glenalla,  and  the  winter  sea- 
sons in  a  warmer  climate  than  that  of  Lower  Can- 
ada." 


CHAPTER   VI 

REMINISCENCES  OP  ONE  OF  MY  FATHER 's  OLD  STUDENTS 

Edward  D.  Worthington,  subsequently  the  most 
active  and  eminent  practitioner  in  the  Eastern  town- 
ships, studied  under  my  father  in  the  Mountain  Hill 
House.  He  wrote  some  of  his  ''Reminiscences  of 
Student  Life  and  Practice"  for  the  Detroit  Medical 
Age,  which  were,  after  his  death,  collected  and  pub- 
lished in  book  form.  They  are  worthy  of  wider  cir- 
culation than  they  secured,  not  only  by  reason  of  the 
charming  conversational  style  in  which  they  were 
written,  but  of  the  details  of  old  student  life  and  by- 
gone medical  and  surgical  practice,  of  which  so  few 
descriptions  have  survived.  I  have  taken  the  liberty 
of  extracting  two  quotations,  one  describing  my 
father's  old  house,  the  house  in  which  I  was  born, 
on  Mountain  Hill,  now  turned  into  the  Mountain 
Hill  Hotel,  the  other  referring  to  my  father's  early 
career  and  skill  as  a  surgeon: 

"When  quite  a  youngster  I  was  indentured  be- 
fore a  Notary  Public  to  Dr.  James  D s,  a  very 

eminent  surgeon  in  the  ancient  City  of  Quebec.  There 
being  no  medical  school  in  the  Province  at  the  time, 
this  was  the  usual  custom. 


164  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

"The  Dr.  lived  on  Mountain  Hill  in  a  house  now 
used  as  a  Hotel.  It  was  built  when  the  country  was 
under  the  dominion  of  France,  and  a  remarkable 
house  it  was— and  probably  is  to  this  day.  It  was 
built  on  the  slope  of  a  steep  and  tortuous  hill,  and 
built  apparently  to  last  forever.  The  foundations 
had  been  laid  at  the  foot  of  the  slope,  on  Notre  Dame 
St.  near  the  site  of  the  historic  Church  of  Notre 
Dame  des  Victoires,  and  the  building  was  carried  up 
so  as  to  base  four  stories  on  Notre  Dame  St.  and  two 
and  a  basement  on  Mountain  Hill:  the  house  thus 
fronting  on  two  streets  each  having  its  distinct  and 
separate  entrance,  one  shut  off  completely  from  the 
other. 

"The  first  story  on  Notre  Dame  Street  consisted 
of  warehouses  and  wine  vaults;  the  second  was  a 
private  residence. 

"The  Mountain  Hill  side,  on  the  contrary,  was 
not  in  trades.    It  was  strictly  professional. 

"The  interior  of  the  place  was  somewhat  as  fol- 
lows: Passing  through  its  large  drawing-room  you 
saw  a  splendid  circular  stair-case  which  led  to  a 
glass  covered  cupola,  and  out  on  a  leaded  roof,  giv- 
ing a  promenade  the  full  length  and  breadth  of  the 
building,  and  commanding  a  glorious  view,  of  the 
Citadel  above,  the  St.  Lawrence  and  St.  Charles  riv- 
ers below,  the  beautiful  Island  of  Orleans,  the  Falls 
of  Montmorenci  and  the  distant  Laurentian  Moun- 
tains, with  the  lovely  slopes  of  the  beautiful  shores 
from  Ancienne  Lorette  to  L'Ange  Gardien.  At  the 
foot  of  this  circular  stairway  stood  a  huge  stuffed 
moose,  with  immense  horns,  a  trophy  of  the  Doctor's 


REMINISCENCES  OF  AN  OLD  STUDENT  165 

skill  as  a  hunter,  and  nearly  every  celebrity  of  the 
day  who  visited  Quebec  called  and  asked  permission 
to  see  the  moose.  Admiral  Sir  George  Cockburn,— 
it  was  he  to  whom  was  intrusted  the  charge  of  con- 
veying Napoleon  to  St.  Helena— Charles  Dickens, 
the  Marquis  of  Waterford,  Lord  Charles  Wellesley, 
Lord  Powerscourt,  Count  D'Orsay,  Sir  James  Mac- 
donnald,  the  hero  of  Huguemont,  and  others  too  nu- 
merous to  mention.  But  all  have  now  gone  to  the 
'spirit  land.'  Where  the  moose  is,  I  do  not  know. 

"This  stairway  was  used  only  in  Summer,  when 
the  family  and  their  visitors  wished  to  enjoy  the 
grand  view  from  the  roof  promenade,  and  it  was 
always  a  matter  of  surprise,  why  the  dwellers  in 
Notre  Dame  St.  should  have  been  denied  this  great 
privilege.  But  it  was  reserved  for  one  of  the  ghosts 
of  my  story  to  discover,  that  it  had  not  been  always 
thus.  In  fact  a  very  narrow  private  stairway  had 
been  made  for  their  benefit,  but  this  being  objected 
to  by  the  'upper  crust'  it  was  closed  up,  and  in  time 
its  very  existence  was  completely  forgotten. 

"Before  my  time  the  basement  referred  to  had  been 
used  as  a  dissecting  room,  but  that  had  been  moved 
to  the  attic  and  the  dissecting  room  converted  into 
a  kitchen,  just  for  the  sake  of  pleasant  associations. 
The  presiding  genius  in  the  kitchen,  old  Kitty,  was 
Irish,  a  strict  Protestant,  but  when  in  extreme  peril 
not  above  crossing  herself,  and  appealing  to  all  the 
saints  on  the  calendar.  She  slept  in  a  cupboard-bed 
in  the  kitchen,  knew  what  the  room  had  formerly 
been,  and  was  prepared  accordingly.  Every  mouse 
was  to  her  a  ghost  in  disguise.     'Why  then  Master 


166  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

Edward,'  she  would  say,  'not  a  night  of  me  life,  that 
they  don't  come  and  sit  across  me  legs,  and  dance 
on  me  chest,  and  then  lift  me  up,  bed  and  all,  up, 
up,  untill,  my  jewel,  I  think  they  are  going  to  shut 
me  up  entirely!  When  I  wakes  wid  a  scream,  and 
comes  down  wid  a  jump,  not  for  worlds,— no— not 
for  me  weight  in  gold,  would  I  stay  in  this  house 
another  day  but  for  the  Missus,  the  darlin'.' 

"  'Now  but  Kitty,  what  did  you  have  for  sup- 
per?' 

"  'What  did  I  have  for  supper,  is  it?  Just  a 
glass  of  beer  and  a  bit  of  bread  and  cheese;  sorra  a 
thing  else.' 

"  'Well,  Kitty,  don't  you  think  it  might  have  been 
the  cheese?' 

"  'Arrah  then,  honey,  don't  you  think  I  am  old 
enough  to  know  the  differ  between  them  and  cheese? 
The  craythurs,  they  don't  ever  harm  one  any  way — 
God  be  good  to  them,  but  they  do  been  cut  up  in 
this  room,  and  they  likes  to  come  back  to  it. ' 

"I  do  not  wish  it  to  be  supposed  for  one  moment, 
that  my  familiarity  with  Kitty  is  any  proof  that  I 
had  a  'mash'  on  her.  It  used  to  be  said  in  Ireland 
and  perhaps  elsewhere  'Whatever  you  do,  keep  good 
friends  with  the  cook.'  Kitty  was  an  old  maid,  she 
could  not  help  that.  Under  proper  facilities  she 
might  have  been  a  Grandmother.  She  was  old  enough 
but  she  came  from  the  dear  owld  sod — not  far  from 
where  I  was  born,  and  it  was  pleasant  to  hear  her 
talk  of  owld  Ireland,  and  its  fairies  and  its  churches, 
and  round  towers,  and  blarney  stones,  and  how  St. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  AN  OLD  STUDENT  167 

Patrick  banished  the  snakes  from  the  island  and 
drove  them  all  into  the  say. 

"The  family  spent  the  Summer  in  the  Country, 
so  Kitty  and  I  had  the  house  to  ourselves  a  great 
part  of  the  time.  I  am  afraid  that  in  spite  of  my 
friendship  for  Kitty,  she  saw  a  great  many  ghosts  in 
those  days,  but  she  was  very  forgiving,  and  thought 
it  was  all  done  for  her  own  good. 

' '  A  day  of  retribution,  however,  came  at  last.  That 
kind  of  thing  is  sure  to  come  sooner  or  later,  upon 
the  wicked.  I  saw  a  ghost  myself  and  it  was  in  that 
very  kitchen.  Smoking  was  a  luxury  to  be  indulged 
in  cautiously  in  that  house.  Lucifer  and  congress 
matches  and  phosphorous  bottles  were  unknown. 
Only  the  old  tinder-box  with  its  flint  and  steel  could 
in  the  absence  of  a  fire  or  a  lighted  candle,  be  relied 
upon  to  light  a  cigar. 

"One  Sunday  morning,  knowing  to  a  certainty 
that  I  was  alone  in  the  house,  I  went  down  to  the 
kitchen  for  a  light.  A  man  sat  on  a  chair  in  front 
of  the  coal  ( ? )  stove,  his  feet  on  its  hearth,  his 
elbows  on  his  knees  and  his  face  in  his  open  palms. 
I  had  firmly  believed  the  man-servant  to  be  out,  but 
there  sat  someone.  I  passed  behind  him  and  coming 
to  his  left  side,  stooped  down  to  open  the  stove  door. 
He  did  not  move,  not  one  foot,  so  I  said  in  my  bland- 
est tones,  looking  up  at  the  same  time,  'Will  you 
have  the  goodness  to  move  your  foot?  I  want  to 
open  the  door.'  If  I  had  had  my  hat  on,  I  would 
have  taken  it  off,  I  was  so  awfully  civil.  No,  he 
never  moved.  I  repeated  my  request,  without  re- 
sult,  so   losing  patience   I   pushed    the   door   open 


168  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

forcibly.  It  opened  back  to  its  hinges,  but  the  feet 
never  moved.  The  stove  door  went  right  straight 
through  them. 

"I  stood  up  quietly  with  my  eyes  fixed  steadily 
on  the  figure.  I  had  always  heard  that  that  was  the 
correct  thing  to  do  when  attacked  by  a  lion.  I  had 
seen  it  recommended  in  books  of  Eastern  Travel,  but 
this  man  never  moved.  He  was  worse  than  a  lion 
and  I  might  be  annihilated  at  any  moment.  0,  for 
a  word  from  old  Kitty.  She  would  have  prayed  to 
the  Saints  for  me.  I  had  to  act  for  myself,  and  I 
acted  quietly,  Oh  so  quietly.  I  retired  backward 
with  my  face  to  the  foe — until  I  reached  the  foot 
of  the  stairs;  then,  I  took  about  18  steps  in  three 
bounds.  Never  before  was  such  time  made  on  that 
stairway. 

"This  was  the  first  ghost,  I  may  as  well  call  it  by 
that  name,  as  by  any  other,  I  had  ever  seen.  I  had 
not  been  eating  cheese,  I  had  not  then  even  tasted 
beer.  I  firmly  believe  to  this  day  that  I  saw  what 
I  have  described,  and  as  I  have  described  it,  and 
further  deponent  saith  not. 

"If  tobacco  had  never  been  discovered,  or,  if  par- 
lor matches  had  been  introduced,  and  I  had  not 
been  obliged  to  go  to  the  kitchen  for  a  light,  would 
that  'poor  ghost'  have  been  there? 

"I  have  recently  been  asked  how  it  was  that  we 
had  dissecting-rooms  in  Quebec  when  we  had  no 
medical  schools.  Why  is  it  that  we  sometimes  have 
bread  when  we  have  no  butter?  Every  medical  man 
in  the  City  who  had  any  practice  at  all,  had  a  private 


BEMINISCENCES  OF  AN  OLD  STUDENT  169 

pupil,  some  had  3  or  4.  The  student  was  bound  by- 
law to  pass  an  examination,  and  show  a  certain 
amount  of  anatomical  knowledge  before  he  could 
legally  begin  the  practice  of  his  profession.  By 
'law'  he  was  bound  to  dissect,  by  'law'  he  might  be 
punished  for  dissecting.     Strange  inconsistency! 

"Through  the  kindness  of  a  friend,  I  have  a  list 
of  all  the  licentiates,  of  the  Provincial  Medical  Board 
from  the  28th  year  of  the  reign  of  his  Majesty 
George  III.  Heading  that  list  is  the  name  of  'Henry 
Leodal  1788,'  whose  bust  is  to  be  seen  to  this  day 
in  the  hall  of  the  Montreal  General  Hospital.  Look- 
ing down  the  list,  among  the  crowd  of  well  remem- 
bered names  are  those  of  Joseph  Painchaud  1809 
and  James  Douglas  1826,  both  of  Quebec.  The  first 
Medical  lectures  ever  given  in  Quebec  of  which  I 
have  any  knowledge  were  given  by  these  gentlemen 
at  the  Marine  and  Emigrant  Hospital,  beginning  on 
the  first  of  May,  1837-38-39. 

"The  subject  of  Dr.  Painchaud 's  lectures  was,  as 
set  forth  on  the  hospital  tickets,  which  I  have  by  me, 
'Sur  l'art  et  la  Science  des  Accouchements, '  and  'Sur 
la  Theorie  et  la  Pratique  de  la  Medicine.'  Those  of 
Dr.  Douglas  were  on  'The  principles  and  practices 
of  Surgery.'  These  gentlemen  constituted  the  medi- 
cal staff  of  the  hospital,  and  the  governors  or  'com- 
missioners' were  Hammond  Gowan,  Joseph  Morrin 
(afterwards  founder  of  Morrin  College)  and  Joseph 
Parent.  Dr.  Painchaud  lived  opposite  the  Artillery 
Barracks,  Palace  Gate.  He  used  to  do  most  of  his 
visiting  in  the  city  on  horseback  and  I  have  a  re- 
membrance of  only  one  horse.     It  was  at  least  16 


170  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

hands  high,  bay,  with  a  short  stub  of  a  tail,  which, 
when  the  horse  was  in  motion,  seemed  to  act  as  a 
propeller,  it  went  round  like  an  'Archimedes  screw.' 
The  horse  had  evidently  been  a  Military  Charger. 
It  was  so  thoroughly  trained.  It  has  often  been  a 
great  puzzle  to  me  how  the  Doctor  got  on  the  out- 
side of  such  a  high  horse,  but  the  horse  was  equal  to 
the  occasion.  The  Doctor  was  not  above  the  average 
height  and  inclined  to  be  stout.  He  had  a  kindly 
smiling  face,  and  was  resplendent  in  waistcoats, 
worn  almost  as  loose  as  a  blouse— of  purple  or  bright 
scarlet  silk,  and  most  exquisitely  got  up  shirt  frills. 
Wellington  boots  he  wore  with  trousers  strapped 
tightly  down,  silver  spurs  and  chains,  and  in  his 
'fob'  he  carried  a  heavy  bunch  of  seals.  When  en- 
tering a  house  he  drew  the  rein  over  the  back  of  the 
saddle  and  allowed  the  horse  to  roam  at  his  own 
sweet  will.  When  he  came  out  he  called  or  blew  a 
small  whistle,  the  horse  marched  up,  got  his  lump 
of  sugar,  wheeled  his  left  side  to  the  sidewalk  for 
the  Doctor  to  mount,  and  off  he  went  prancing,  to 
the  great  admiration  of  the  small  boys.  Dr.  Pain- 
chaud  had  for  many  years  the  largest  French-Cana- 
dian practice  in  Quebec. 

"Dr.  Douglas  lived  on  Mountain  Hill  in  what  is 
now  known  as  the  Mountain  Hill  House.  He  was 
educated  in  Edinburgh  and  London.  He  was  the 
most  brilliant  operator  I  ever  saw— and  I  have  seen 
some  good  men  in  my  time  here  and  in  the  old  coun- 
try. It  was  not  only  that  he  did  his  work  quickly, 
but  he  did  it  well,  and  his  operations  were  simply 
splendid.     I  remember  a  poor  fellow  in  the  Marine 


EEMINISCENCES  OF  AN  OLD  STUDENT  171 

and  Emigrant  Hospital  at  Quebec,  who  from  frost 
bite  was  obliged  to  have  both  legs  removed  just  above 
the  knee.  It  was  decided  to  have  the  double  event 
come  off  at  the  same  time,  two  legs— two  operations 
with  the  object  of  saving  the  patient  as  much  as 
possible.  From  the  instant  the  point  of  the  knife 
entered,  till  the  leg  was  on  the  floor  was  one  minute 
and  forty-two  seconds,  in  Douglas'  case.  The  vessels 
were  tied  and  the  wound  dressed  inside  of  three 
minutes.  The  other  amputation  was  not  quite  fin- 
ished in  half  an  hour,  when  some  of  us  had  to  leave. 
The  case  did  well.  No  anesthetic  was  known  in  those 
days.  It  was  sheer  pluck  on  the  side  of  both  pa- 
tient and  doctor." 

Dr.  Worthington  mentions  my  father's  relation 
to,  and  my  father  in  his  autobiography  refers  to,  his 
connection  with  the  Marine  and  Emigrant  Hospital, 
but  omits  the  incidents  which  preceded  his  resigna- 
tion as  one  of  the  visiting  physicians. 

The  terrible  typhus  season  of  1847-48  created  dis- 
organization in  the  establishment.  The  visiting 
physician  could  only  complain  to  the  Commissioners, 
and,  if  they  did  not  interfere,  report  to  the  Govern- 
ment. This  they  did,  but  the  complaints  were  un- 
heeded till  1851-52,  when  Dr.  Neilson  and  Dr.  Mac- 
donnell  were  appointed  to  investigate  the  affairs  of 
the  hospital. 

From  the  correspondence  elicited  by  this  investi- 
gation I  take  the  following  extracts  from  copies  of 
my  father's  letters  to  the  Provincial  Secretary. 

"When  Dr.  Painchaud  and  I  were  appointed,  we 
found  the  hospital  in  a  state  of  chaos,  and  the  scene 


172  MY  FATHEE'S  JOURNAL 

of  drunkenness,  licentiousness  and  open  robbery. — 
Through  our  exertions  and  the  support  of  the  Com- 
missioners it  was  placed,  as  Drs.  N.  &  M.  allow,  in 
a  high  position  as  an  asylum  for  the  sick  and  maimed, 
and  a  reputable  position  as  a  school  of  Practical 
Surgery  and  Medicine.— It  was  moreover  moral,  ab- 
stemious and  well  conducted.  What  was,  however, 
of  far  more  importance  in  a  Hospital,  the  aver- 
age of  mortality  was  less  than  3%,  and  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  temperance  societies  then  hardly 
existed,  and  that  the  number  of  fractures  and  grave 
injuries  exceeded  by  three  hundred  per  cent  the 
number  given  in  the  Commissioner's  tables  as  ad- 
mitted during  the  last  year." 

Dr.  Fremont  always  assisted  him  in  operating, 
though  Dr.  Fremont  was  not  one  of  the  visiting  sur- 
geons. One  of  the  witnesses  criticized  him  because — 
as  was  claimed— he  "slighted  and  insulted  the  whole 
staff  of  visiting  physicians  by  bringing  Dr.  Fremont, 
not  connected  with  the  Hospital,  to  assist  at  opera- 
tions." He  replied:  "It  is  perfectly  true  that  not 
'sometimes,'  but  always  I  got  Dr.  Fremont  to  assist 
me  in  operations  as  well  in  Hospital  as  in  private 
practice.  He  has  invariably  assisted  me  for  the  last 
sixteen  or  seventeen  years.  I  never  had  other  as- 
sistance than  his.  I  never  use  a  tourniquet,  and  in 
my  operations  felt  unbounded  reliance  that  with  his 
co-operation  no  unnecessary  loss  of  blood  would  oc- 
cur. He  knew  my  ways  and  mode  of  operating,— 
I  had  no  directions  to  give;  there  was  no  noise,  con- 
fusion or  loss  of  time.     I  have  reason,  under  God, 


REMINISCENCES  OF  AN  OLD  STUDENT  173 

to  attribute  much  of  my  success  in  surgical  opera- 
tions to  Dr.  Fremont's  assistance.  In  one  case,  in 
Hospital,  but  for  his  promptitude,  the  patient  would 
have  died  on  the  table.  There  was  no  time  to  give 
directions  or  explanations;  thirty  seconds  loss  of 
time  would  have  made  with  the  patient  all  the  dif- 
ference between  time  and  eternity.  Had  I  been  aware 
that  on  the  appointment  of  the  six  visiting  physicians 
I  would  have  been  deprived  of  the  assistance  of  Dr. 
F.,  I  would  at  once  have  placed  my  commission  at 
His  Excellency's  disposal.  My  colleagues  knew  that 
Dr.  F.  always  had  assisted  me  before  their  appoint- 
ment, and  only  now  I  hear  complaints  that  he  has 
continued  to  do  so  since." 

The  investigation  revealed  considerable  personal 
feeling  against  him  by  some  of  his  colleagues  in  the 
profession.  As  he  had  given  up  active  practice  he 
retained  the  position  of  a  visiting  physician  only  long 
enough  to  relieve  himself  of  the  imputation  of  having 
retired  under  fire. 

It  was  not  safe  to  engage  in  a  contest  of  wits 
with  my  father. 

About  1844  there  was  started  in  Quebec  one  of  those 
pestilential  blackmailing  sheets  with  which  every 
community  is  infested.  Its  name  defined  its  inten- 
tion— The  Mechanical  Spy.  It  picked  up  or  manu- 
factured scandals,  put  them  in  print,  sent  the  proofs  to 
the  victims,  and  was  generally  paid  for  suppressing 
them.  One  of  my  father's  students  at  that  time  was 
a  clever  lad,  but  somewhat  unruly.     He  was  a  fa- 


174  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

vourite,  nevertheless.  On  the  first  occasion  on  which 
my  father  took  me,  a  very  little  boy,  to  fish  with 
him  on  the  Montmorency  he  took  David  also.  I  dis- 
tinctly recollect  that  early  in  the  afternoon  the  lad 
said  he  was  going  down  to  a  deep  hole  to  take  a 
swim.  Sunset  approached,  my  father  put  up  his 
tackle,  but  David  did  not  appear.  My  father 
shouted  and  searched  along  the  river  and  in  the 
woods  till  dark,  and  on  our  return  sent  out  our 
servants  to  scour  the  forest.  But  David  was  not 
found.  The  following  afternoon  my  father  returned, 
and  in  the  river  discovered  the  body,  and  not 
very  far  distant  the  rod  with  a  large  fish  dead  on 
the  hook.  He  had  evidently  hooked  a  large  fish,  and, 
following  my  father's  tactics  of  trying  to  kill  him  in 
the  rapids,  had  lost  his  footing.  Next  week  the 
Mechanical  Spy  came  out  with  the  advice  to  parents 
who  have  unruly  children  to  apprentice  them  to 
medical  men,  as  they  are  adepts  in  the  art  of  killing, 
hinting  likewise  that  my  father  had  personal  motives 
for  ridding  himself  of  his  student,  and  promising 
further  particulars  in  a  subsequent  number.  My 
father  professed  supreme  indifference  and  refused 
to  pay;  but  instead  he  hired  a  literary  man  of  some- 
what irregular  habits  to  call  on  the  shoemaker  who  was 
supposed  to  be  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Spy.  The 
agent  expressed  his  unbounded  admiration  of  the  mo- 
tives and  matter  of  the  Spy,  but  pointed  out  some  of  its 
literary  defects  and  offered  to  act  as  sub-editor  on 
very  reasonable  terms.  The  shoemaker  editor  took 
the  bait  and  the  whole  manuscript  contents  of  the  edito- 
rial office  were  transferred  to  my  father's  consulting 


EEMINISCENCES  OF  AN  OLD  STUDENT  175 

room.  Even  he  was  surprised  at  the  respectable 
position  of  many  of  the  men  who  were  the  regular 
purveyors  of  scandal.  One  was  a  lawyer  of  very  good 
standing  at  the  bar,  another  a  young  man  being  edu- 
cated for  the  church.  Nothing  but  the  spirit  of  mal- 
ice and  mischief -making  instigated  most  of  the  con- 
tributions. No  other  number  of  the  Mechanical  Spy 
appeared,  and  the  denouement  of  "The  medical  ap- 
prentice and  the  Doctor"  was  never  printed.  On  the 
other  hand  the  editor  and  several  of  his  contributors 
left  town  hastily  and  others  received  a  hint  which  ever 
afterward  prevented  them  indulging  in  such  amuse- 
ments. 

He  was  strongly  opposed  to  the  use  of  alcohol,  even 
in  beer,  for  his  insane  patients,  and  what  he  would 
not  allow  himself  as  an  article  of  food,  he  punished 
by  dismissal  any  attendant  for  indiscreet  indulgence 
in.  A  neighbor  who  had  a  lease  of  a  piece  of  land 
which  had  been  bought  for  the  use  of  the  asylum, 
knowing  the  stringency  of  the  rules  against  drink- 
ing, attempted  to  sell  his  lease  dearly  by  establish- 
ing a  tavern  at  the  asylum  gates.  The  Dunkin  act 
was  then  a  law,  though  never  enforced,  requiring 
every  tavern  to  close  between  8  P.  M.  on  Saturday 
and  till  6  A.  M.  on  Monday.  My  father  applied  it 
most  effectually.  He  employed  a.  dozen  reliable 
witnesses,  each  to  be  used  in  a  separate  suit,  to  visit 
the  tavern  in  the  proscribed  hours  on  Sunday. 
Early  in  the  following  week  complaint  was  made  and 
suit  commenced.  The  tavern-keeper  and  his  sons 
swore  the  first  witnesses  out  of  court,  but  the  judge 
warned  him  to  be  prudent  in  the  future.     Another 


176  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

case  was  commenced  the  same  day  and  judgment  went 
against  the  tavern.  A  third  was  immediately  in- 
stituted, and  this  was  held  in  terrorem  over  the 
head  of  the  unfortunate  publican.  Of  course,  he 
capitulated,  as  Sunday  was  the  only  day  on  which 
he  could  hope  to  do  a  thriving  business.  One  of  the 
articles  of  capitulation  was  that  his  crop  should  be 
bought  at  a  valuation.  He  appointed  his  arbiter,  a 
witty  Irish  farmer.  My  father  named  his,  a  staid 
old  English  farmer,  a  sincerely  pious  though  very 
simple  Methodist.  The  notarial  deed  prescribed  the 
appointment  of  an  umpire  in  case  of  difference.  A 
wide  difference  of  valuation,  of  course,  existed;  but 
the  Irishman  naively  suggested  that  there  was  a 
speedy  way  of  settling  the  question,  one  that  was 
warranted  by  the  authority  of  Holy  Writ,  viz.,  cast- 
ing lots.  His  arguments,  fortified  by  texts,  were 
irresistible,  and  Mr.  May,  for  the  first  time  in  his 
life,  tossed  a  penny.  The  penny  decided  against  him 
and  he  signed  the  Irishman's  award.  We  read  it 
with  utter  amazement,  and  before  obeying  it  leamt 
from  our  literal  friend  how  such  an  extraordinary 
figure  had  been  arrived  at.  After  hearing  we  did  not, 
of  course,  obey  the  award. 

He  once  lodged  a  complaint  against  a  carter  who 
was  maltreating  his  horse.  When  the  case  came  up 
in  court  he  was  summoned  as  the  principal  witness. 
The  plaintiff's  lawyer,  a  pert  young  practitioner, 
put  the  usual  questions.  After  eliciting  the  fact, 
which  every  one  knew,  that  the  witness  was  a  doc- 
tor, he  imprudently  asked,  "Are  you  a  horse  doc- 


REMINISCENCES  OF  AN  OLD  STUDENT  177 

tor?"     "Yes,"  was  the  prompt  reply,  "and  an  ass 
doctor— at  your  service." 

MEDICAL  LECTURES 

To  the  Chronicle. 

In  a  recent  number  of  the  Chronicle  Sir  James  LeMoine 
furnishes  extracts  from  "Beminiscences  of  Student  Life  and 
Practice,"  by  the  late  Dr.  Worthington,  of  Sherbrooke,  who 
says:  "The  first  medical  lectures  ever  given  in  Quebec,  of 
which  I  have  any  knowledge,  were  given  at  the  Marine  and 
Emigrant  Hospital,  beginning  on  the  1st  of  May,  1837." 

On  the  31st  of  August,  1826,  the  medical  profession  of  this 
city  and  neighborhood  entertained  their  countryman  and  con- 
frere, Dr.  Pierre  de  Salles  Laterriere,  with  a  dinner  at  Mail- 
hot's  Hotel,  before  his  return  to  England.  In  his  address  he 
says:  "The  rapid  improvements  which  have  but  lately  taken 
place  in  the  medical  profession  in  Canada,  .  .  .  ought  to  im- 
press on  the  public,  and  particularly  on  our  Legislature,  the 
indispensible  necessity  of  some  medical  school  being  established 
among  us,  where  the  student  might  acquire  in  his  native 
country  the  knowledge  which  is  the  basis  of  medical  science." 

This  quotation  proves  that  in  Quebec  medicine  was  not 
taught  at  that  time,  though  at  Montreal  four  medical  gentle- 
men, viz.:  Drs.  Caldwell,  Eobertson,  Stephenson  and  Holmes, 
had,  since  a  few  years,  been  engaged  in  giving  medical  lessons 
with  great  success.  In  the  Journal  de  Medicine,  January, 
1827,  vol.  II,  page  117,  I  read:  "The  lectures  (in  medicine) 
which  are  now  deKvering  in  the  presence  of  the  most  distin- 
guished characters,  both  in  and  out  of  the  profession,  are  a 
striking  and  gratifying  evidence  of  the  liberal  dispositions  of 
the  medical  practitioners  in  this  city. 

"There  are  at  present  in  Quebec  two  gentlemen  deKver- 
ing lectures  on  chemistry  and  one  on  anatomy  and  physiology. 
Drs.  F.  Blanchet  and  Douglas  are  lecturing  at  the  Emigrant 
Hospital  and  S.  J.  Whitelaw  at  the  old  Theatre."  (Where 
that  was  I  would  like  to  know.) 


178  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

Dr.  Blanchet  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  and  had 
the  credit  of  being  the  first  Canadian  author,  although  Dr. 
Pierre  de  Salles  Laterriere  had  published  at  Boston,  in  1789, 
a  thesis,  of  which  500  copies  were  printed.  (Gagnon  Bib- 
liograph,  p.  273.) 

Dr.  Whitelaw  was  said  to  have  superior  merits  as  a  lec- 
turer. 

Of  Douglas  the  editor  of  the  Journal  de  Medicine  says: 
"We  do  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  his  introductory  lecture  the 
most  elaborate  history  of  comparative  anatomy  which  we  have 
ever  heard  or  read." 

This  Journal  de  Medicine  was,  I  believe,  the  first  medical 
journal  published  in  Canada.  It  was  printed  at  Quebec  by 
Francois  Lemaitre,  at  No.  3  Ste.  Famille  street  during  1826, 
and  by  the  same  at  No.  4  Notre  Dame  street,  market  square, 
Lower  Town,  in  1827.  It  was  edited  and  published  by  Xavier 
Tessier,  M.  D. 

It  lasted  only  two  years. 

MICHAEL  JOS.  AHEEN. 

Quebec,  August  31,  1900. 


CHAPTER   VII 

MY    FATHER'S    ILL-HEALTH    AND    TRAVELS 

My  father's  professional  life  was  made  doubly 
arduous  by  the  hard  and  fast  rules  he  laid  down  for 
himself.  His  health  consequently  broke  down  pre- 
maturely. The  breakfast  hour  was  six  o'clock,  and 
punctuality  was  rigidly  enforced.  Though  he  may 
have  been  up  nearly  all  night  with  a  patient,  he  was 
at  the  table  at  the  fatal  hour— two  hours  before  day- 
light in  winter  time.  And  the  most  honoured  guest 
was  made  to  feel  uncomfortable  if  he  were  late. 
When  in  1849  he  decided  to  give  up  practice  he  de- 
termined to  visit  Italy,  and  in  order  to  prepare  him- 
self he  engaged  an  Italian  to  teach  him  colloquial 
Italian.  To  avoid  infringing  on  his  working  hours 
he  made  poor  Simeon  trudge  through  the  snow  to 
give  him  his  daily  lesson  at  5  A.  M.,  an  hour  before 
the  hateful  breakfast.  He  never  slept  in  his  coun- 
try house,  out  of  reach  of  his  patients,  and  he  never 
hesitated  to  rise  from  a  meal  in  answer  to  a  pa- 
tient's call.  As  a  medical  man  he  must  have  known 
that  such  a  strain  on  mind  and  body  must  inevitably 
lead  to  a  breakdown.  But,  having  made  these  laws 
for  himself  and  his  household,  he  and  we  had  to 


180  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

live  up  to  them.  The  six  o'clock  breakfast  was  en- 
forced till  he  left  Quebec  and  lived  with  me  in 
Phoenixville,  Pa.,  in  1875.  But  he  then  fell  into  a 
saner  and  more  reasonable  schedule  of  hours  for  meals 
and  rest  without  a  murmur  or  any  reluctance. 

For  a  short  time  before  retiring  from  practice  he 
associated  with  himself  Dr.  Rowand,  but  the  part- 
nership was  not  congenial  to  either  party.  He  was 
not  easily  matched  in  harness,  and  therefore  he  may 
have  been  convinced  that  it  would  be  wiser  to  throw 
off  entirely  the  toil  of  professional  life  than  to  share 
it  with  another.  He  had  just  taken  a  ten-year  con- 
tract, in  association  with  Dr.  Morrin  and  Dr.  Fre- 
mont, to  care  for  the  provincial  insane,  and  had 
erected  suitable  buildings  on  a  property  adjacent  to 
his  country  house  on  the  Beauport  Road.  He  was 
thus  assured  of  some  congenial  work.  But  from 
1851  till  1865-66  he  spent  nine  winters  abroad,  visit- 
ing Egypt  six  times  and  Palestine  thrice. 

On  the  second  trip  abroad  I,  a  boy  of  fifteen,  ac- 
companied him.  After  spending  a  few  days  in 
Darlington  with  his  sister,  Mrs.  Dale,  who  was  car- 
ing for  their  old  father,  we  went  to  Egypt  for  a 
fortnight  and  passed  the  rest  of  the  winter  in  Italy. 
It  was  my  father's  first  draught  of  Nile  water  and 
inhalation  of  Egypt's  dry,  bracing  air.  He  got  a 
slight  foretaste  of  the  delightful,  lazy  methods  of 
travel  in  the  days  before  railroads  and  Cook  steam- 
boats, and  of  the  intoxicating  blending  of  the  old  and 
new  in  architecture,  government  and  habits  of  the 
people,  which  Egypt  affords  beyond  any  other  coun- 
try even  of  the  Old  World.     On  this  first  trip  we 


ILL-HEALTH  AND  TRAVELS  181 

met  Mr.  Betts,  a  railroad  contractor,  who  was  build- 
ing the  first  link  in  the  railroad  from  Alexandria  to 
Cape  Town— that  from  Alexandria  to  Cairo.  "Cape 
Town  to  Cairo"  is  a  more  euphonious  alliteration, 
but  Cape  Town  to  Alexandria  will  be  geographically 
more  correct.  He  introduced  us  to  Mariette  Bey, 
who  had  just  discovered  and  unearthed  the  wonder- 
ful catacombs  of  the  Bull  Apis  at  Sakkara.  We 
spent  a  delightful  day  with  M.  Mariette,  and  under 
his  guidance  saw  the  Apis  Catacombs  and  the  in- 
teresting Ibis  mummy  pits,  which  he  also  recently 
found  and  which  are  wisely  now  closed  to  the  public. 
Time  did  not  permit  of  our  slowly  ascending  to  the 
Cataract  by  dahdbia,  but  my  father  decided  that  his 
next  winter  abroad  should  be  spent  on  the  Nile. 

Consequently  in  1854-55  the  whole  family  mi- 
grated with  him  to  Egypt  —  my  mother,  brother, 
myself  and  our  cousin,  Miss  Dale.  We  ascended  to 
the  First  Cataract,  and  on  our  return  made  a  flying 
trip  to  Palestine,  by  boat  to  Jaffa  and  on  horseback 
from  Jaffa  to  Jerusalem.  Neither  roads  nor  wheeled 
vehicles  were  then  known  in  the  Holy  Land. 
The  visit  to  Jerusalem  was  made  notable  by  two 
events  less  commonplace  than  usually  fall  to  the  lot 
of  casual  travelers.  We  were  among  the  first  visit- 
ors to  enter  the  quarries  of  Underground  Jerusalem, 
which  had  just  been  accidentally  discovered;  and 
my  father,  mother  and  cousin  were  fortunately 
allowed  to  join  the  first  party  of  Christians  who 
ever,  by  permission,  crossed  the  Platform  and  entered 
the  Mosque  of  Omar.     The  first  account  of  the  quar- 


182  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

ries  was  published  in  the  following  letter  from  my 
father  to  the  "Athenaeum"  of  May  3,  1856: 

"DISCOVERIES   IN   JERUSALEM. 

"The  following  notes  on  ancient  quarries  in  Jeru- 
salem have  been  placed  at  the  service  of  our  readers 
through  a  friend.  They  were  made  by  a  Scotch 
gentleman,  Mr.  Douglas: 

"During  a  visit  to  Jerusalem  in  the  spring  of 
1855  I  became  acquainted  with  a  very  intelligent 
Hebrew,  who  informed  me  that  there  were  extensive 
quarries  beneath  the  city,  and  that  there  was  un- 
doubted evidence  that  from  these  quarries  the  stones 
employed  in  the  building  and  rebuilding  of  the  Tem- 
ple were  obtained.  He  told  me  that  these  excava- 
tions were  accessible  through  a  small  opening  under 
the  north  wail  of  the  city,— that  he  had  descended 
some  time  before  with  two  English  gentlemen,  and 
had  spent  with  them  several  hours  in  exploring  the 
excavations,  which  were  sufficiently  extensive  to 
have  furnished  stones  enough,  not  only  for  the  con- 
struction of  this  Temple,  but  for  the  whole  of  Jeru- 
salem, the  walls  included.  He  expressed  his  readi- 
ness to  accompany  me,  but  proposed  to  go  after  dark, 
as  he  feared  the  Turkish  guards  might  fire  upon  or 
maltreat  us,  if  they  detected  us.  As  my  party  com- 
prised two  ladies  and  my  two  sons,  all  equally  de- 
sirous with  myself  to  see  these  excavations,— as  the 
gates  of  the  city  were  closed  at  sunset,— and  as  there 
were  no  houses  outside  the  walls, — I  would  not  listen 
to  the  proposal  to  spend  the  night  in  the  open  air, 
unless,  upon  trial,  I  found  we  could  do  no  better. 


ILL-HEALTH  AND  TRAVELS  183 

We,  accordingly,  went  to  examine  the  situation  and 
size  of  the  opening.  We  found  it  about  150  yards 
to  the  eastward  of  the  Damascus  Gate.  It  seemed 
like  the  burrow  of  some  wild  animal;  there  was  no 
rubbish  above  the  opening,  but  some  tall  grass  and 
weeds.  Persons  entering  might  be  observed  by  the 
guards;  but  this  did  not  seem  very  likely,  as  the  sol- 
diers generally  remained  within  the  gate,  and  only 
very  rarely  one  sauntered  outside.  We,  accordingly, 
decided  to  make  the  attempt  by  daylight,  fully  sat- 
isfied that,  even  if  observed,  we  should  be  only  rudely 
driven  away.  The  next  morning,  therefore,  we  left 
the  city  as  soon  as  the  gates  were  opened.  One  of 
the  party  got  into  the  hole,  but  returned,  saying,  that 
it  would  be  necessary  to  get  in  feet  foremost,  as  there 
was  a  perpendicular  descent  of  six  or  seven  feet  at 
the  inner  opening.  He  went  back  again  with  the 
lights ;  I  followed.  The  ladies  were  got  through  with 
considerable  difficulty.  When  fairly  inside,  we 
found  ourselves  in  an  immense  vault,  and  standing 
upon  the  top  of  a  pile  which  was  very  evidently 
formed  by  the  accumulation  of  the  minute  particles 
from  the  final  dressings  of  the  blocks  of  stone.  On 
descending  this  pile,  we  entered,  through  a  large 
arch,  into  another  vault,  equally  vast,  and  separated 
from  the  first  by  enormous  pillars.  This  vault,  or 
quarry,  led,  by  a  gradual  descent,  into  another  and 
another,  each  separated  from  the  other  by  massive 
stony  partitions,  which  had  been  left  to  give  addi- 
tional strength  to  the  vaulted  roofs.  In  some  of  the 
quarries  the  blocks  of  stone  which  had  been  quarried 
out  lay  partly  dressed;  in  some  the  blocks  were  still 


184  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

attached  to  the  rock;  in  some  the  workmen  had  just 
commenced  chiselling;  and  in  some  the  architect's 
line  was  distinct  on  the  smooth  face  of  the  wall  of 
the  quarry.  The  mode  in  which  the  blocks  were  got 
out  was  similar  to  that  used  by  the  ancient  Egyp- 
tians, as  seen  in  the  sandstone  quarries  at  Hagar  Til- 
silis  and  in  the  granite  quarries  at  Syene.  The  arch- 
itect first  drew  the  outline  of  the  blocks  on  the  face 
of  the  quarry;  the  workmen  then  chiselled  them  out 
in  their  whole  thickness,  separating  them  entirely 
from  each  other,  and  leaving  them  attached  by  their 
barks  only  to  the  solid  wall.  They  were  then  de- 
tached by  cutting  a  passage  behind  them,  which, 
whilst  it  separated  the  blocks,  left  them  roughly 
dressed,  and  left  the  wall  prepared  for  further  op- 
erations. We  remarked  the  similarity  between  the 
stones  chiselled  out  in  these  quarries  and  the  few 
blocks  of  stone  built  into  the  south-east  corner  of  the 
wall  of  Jerusalem,  which  are  so  remarkable  for  their 
size,  their  weather-worn  appearance,  and  the  peculiar 
ornamentation  of  their  edges.  We  spent  between  two 
and  three  hours  in  these  quarries.  Our  examinations 
were,  however,  chiefly  on  the  side  towards  the  Val- 
ley of  Jehoshaphat.  Our  guide  stated,  that  more  to 
the  westward  was  a  quarry  of  the  peculiar  reddish 
marble  so  commonly  used  as  pavement  in  the  streets 
of  Jerusalem.  From  the  place  where  we  entered  the 
descent  was  gradual;  between  some  of  the  quarries, 
however,  there  were  broad  flights  of  steps,  cut  out 
of  the  solid  rock.  I  had  no  means  of  judging  of  the 
distance  between  the  roofs  of  the  vaults  and  the 
streets  of  the  city,  except  that  from  the  descent  the 


ILL-HEALTH  AND  TRAVELS  185 

thickness  must  be  enormous.  The  size  and  extent 
of  these  excavations  fully  bore  out  the  opinion  that 
they  had  yielded  stones  enough  to  build  not  only  the 
Temple,  but  the  whole  of  Jerusalem. 

"The  situation  of  these  quarries — the  mode  by 
which  the  stones  were  got  out— and  the  evidence 
that  the  stones  were  fully  prepared  and  dressed  be- 
fore being  removed,  may  possibly  throw  light  upon 
the  verses  of  Scripture  in  which  it  is  said— 2  Chron- 
icles, ii.  18— 'And  he  (Solomon)  set  three-score  and 
ten  thousand  of  them  to  be  bearers  of  burdens,  and 
fourscore  thousand  to  be  hewers  in  the  mountains, 
and  three  thousand  and  six  hundred  overseers  to  set 
the  people  a  work.'  And  again— 1  Kings,  vi.  7 — 
'And  the  house,  when  it  was  in  building,  was  built 
of  stone  made  ready  before  it  was  brought  thither: 
so  that  there  was  neither  hammer  nor  ax  nor  any 
tool  of  iron  heard  in  the  house,  while  it  was  in 
building. ' 

' '  In  one  of  the  quarries  there  was  a  spring  of  water. 
A  recess  in  the  rock  and  a  shallow  trough  had  been 
cut  for  its  reception.  The  water  was  soft  and  clear, 
but  somewhat  unpleasant  to  the  taste.  The  expendi- 
ture of  our  candles  hastened  our  departure.  We  got 
out  as  we  got  in,  unobserved.  I  had  not  another 
opportunity  of  visiting  these  quarries ;  but  left  Jeru- 
salem in  hopes  that  some  one  more  enterprising  and 
more  able  would  explore  and  give  a  more  detailed 
and  accurate  account  of  these  excavations,  which  to 
me  seemed  so  abounding  in  interest." 

The  editor  remarks:  "Such  is  the  communication 
made  to  us  from  the  reports  of  Mr.  Douglas.    Some 


186  MY  FATHEK  'S  JOURNAL 

of  our  Correspondents  at  Jerusalem  may  possibly  be 
able  to  tell  us  more  about  these  interesting  quarries." 

On  the  day  of  the  visit  to  the  Mosque  of  Omar 
my  brothers  and  I  had  ridden  out  to  the  Pools  of 
Solomon.  The  rest  of  the  party  went  to  the  Church 
of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  to  witness  one  of  the  great 
functions  of  Holy  Week,  the  Miracle  of  the  Greek 
Fire. 

"After  the  performance  of  the  Ceremony,"  my 
father  says,  "and  while  conversing  with  the  Secre- 
tary to  the  French  Consulate,  he  informed  me,  that 
in  an  hour's  time,  a  most  unheard  of  visit  was  to  be 
made  to  the  Temple  area,  by  the  Duke  of  Brabant, 
the  heir  to  the  throne  of  Belgium,  who,  when  in 
Constantinople  had  received  from  the  Sultan  an  or- 
der on  the  Pacha  to  be  admitted  into  the  Temple 
Area.  I  expressed  a  doubt,  observing,  that  the 
Mosque  of  Omar,  built  on  the  site  of  the  Temple 
of  Solomon,  was  considered  by  the  Moslems  so  holy, 
that  Jews  and  Christians  had  repeatedly  been  put  to 
death,  for  merely  looking  thro'  the  gates.  The  Sec- 
retary replied,  that  the  Sultan's  order  on  the  Pacha 
was  imperative;  that  His  Highness  the  Duke,  with 
his  Confessor  the  Bishop,  and  the  French  Consul 
were  to  be  admitted  into  the  Temple  precincts  at 
four  o'clock. 

"I  at  once  determined,  if  it  was  possible,  to  go  too, 
and  hastening  to  the  Hotel,  I  placed  the  Ladies  at 
the  outer  gate,  with  strict  injunctions  not  to  leave, 
until  my  return. 

"I  went  to  the  French  Consul,  and  requested  to 
be  allowed  to  accompany  the  Duke's  party,  but  I  was 


ILL-HEALTH  AND  TRAVELS  187 

politely,  but  flatly  refused.  I  then  applied  to  Mr. 
Finn,  the  English  Consul,  he  however  would  hardly 
listen  to  me,  he  said  that  if  the  visit  was  known, 
there  would  be  an  immediate  rising  of  a  bigoted 
populace,  and  probably  a  loss  of  life. 

"I  hastened  back  to  the  Hotel,  and  took  the  La- 
dies with  me  to  the  Pacha's  palace,  where  leaving 
them  at  the  outer  gate,  I  made  my  way  to  the  Divan, 
where  the  Pacha  was  seated  smoking,  with  two  dis- 
tinguished looking  Arabs.  There  was  no  interpreter 
on  the  spot  at  the  moment,  and  my  knowledge  of 
Arabic  was  homeopathic;  the  Pacha  however  had  a 
few  words  of  Italian,  of  which  he  semed  proud  to 
make  a  display  to  his  visitors. 

"I  stated  my  desire  to  be  permitted  to  enter  the 
Temple  Area  with  two  Ladies,  the  Pacha  exclaimed, 
'Ladies— Ladies— too  late— just  going.'  I  said  that 
the  ladies  were  below;  he  exclaimed,  'Ladies  in  my 
house,  I  would  like  to  see  them.'  I  ran  down,  and 
told  them  that  the  Pacha  wished  to  be  introduced 
to  them,  and  that  they  had  only  to  make  a  pro- 
found curtsey,  on  being  presented.  The  ceremony 
had  barely  been  gone  thro',  when  the  Duke  and  his 
party  were  announced,  the  Pacha  rose  to  meet  and  at 
once  accompanied  them  and  us  into  the  Temple 
grounds,  thro'  a  door  which  entered  from  the  Court 
of  his  Palace.  We  had  barely  got  in,  when  we  were 
saluted  by  an  extraordinary  looking  figure,  who  leapt, 
— threw  his  arms  over  his  head,  and  screamed  with 
all  his  might  and  main.  He  was  immediately  seized 
by  the  Attendants,— pinioned,— part  of  his  dress  was 
thrust  into  his  mouth,— and  he  was  hurried  out  of 


188  MY  FATHER 'S  JOURNAL 

sight.  We  were  informed  that  the  Dervishes  who 
reside  in  and  about  the  Mosque  of  Omar,  had  been 
shut  up  to  avoid  disturbance,  and,  that  the  one  just 
hurried  off,  had  got  out,  or  been  overlooked. 

"The  stone  platform  on  which  Solomon  built  his 
temple,  and  on  which  the  Mosque  of  Omar  now 
stands,  is  of  very  considerable  size,  and  covers  an 
Area  of  thirty  five  Acres  within  the  enclosure.  It  is 
perfectly  level,  and  has  been  highly  polished  by  the 
sandaled  and  by  the  bare  feet  of  the  countless  wor- 
shippers, during  three  thousands  of  years.  In  fact, 
I  know  of  no  place  whose  peculiar  sanctity  has  been 
so  acknowledged  by  peoples  so  diverse  in  origin,  and 
in  religious  belief.  Jews,— Christians  and  Mussel- 
mans  have  vied  with  each  other  in  their  veneration 
for  this  Holy  spot. 

"We  were  hurried  through  this  hallowed  spot, 
in  what  appeared  to  me  to  be  unseemly  haste,  and 
were  dismissed  thro'  a  postern  gate,  which  opened 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Jews  quarter  of  the 
City." 

The  only  distant  excursion  made  was  to  the  Jordan 
and  the  Dead  Sea. 

On  our  way  back,  between  Jericho  and  Bethany 
we  witnessed  an  incident  very  illustrative  of  the 
permanence  of  habit  and  mode  of  life  in  the  East. 
My  father  thus  tells  the  story : 

"We  had  bathed  in  the  sacred  river,  on  the  banks 
from  which  our  Redeemer  had  been  baptized  by  John, 
and  we  were  then  treading  in  his  very  footsteps 
toward  Jerusalem,  when  we  witnessed  a  scene  such 
as  suggested  to  him  one  of  his  parables,  fraught  with 


ILL-HEALTH  AND  TRAVELS  189 

lessons  as  full  of  meaning  to  ourselves  as  to  the  self- 
righteous  Jew. 

"Soon  after  passing  the  site  of  Jericho  we  found, 
lying  on  the  roadside  an  Arab,  who  was  grievously- 
wounded  and  helpless.  He  had  been  attacked  by  the 
band  of  prowling  Bedouins  near  whom  we  had  en- 
camped the  previous  night.  He  was  literally  "a 
wayfaring  man  who  had  fallen  among  thieves."  It 
was  beautiful  to  witness  the  conduct  of  our  Sheik, 
who,  in  his  own  estimation,  and  in  that  of  his  band, 
was  the  greatest  man  of  our  party.  He  got  off  his 
superb  horse,  and  assisted  by  my  sons  and  me,  placed 
the  wounded  and  helpless  Arab  upon  it;  then,  plac- 
ing one  of  his  band  on  each  side,  to  sustain  the 
wounded  man  on  the  sadde,  he  himself,  taking  the 
bridle  in  his  hand,  led  the  horse  until  we  came  to 
an  habitation  where  he  could  be  cared  for.  These 
circumstances  we  witnessed  on  the  roadside  between 
Jericho  and  Jerusalem  on  the  9th  day  of  April,  1855. 

"Anno  Domini  32  St.  Luke  wrote,  Chap.  10,  verses 
30  to  35  inclusive,  'And  Jesus  answering  said: 

"  '30.  A  certain  man  went  down  from  Jerusalem 
to  Jericho,  and  fell  among  thieves,  which  stripped 
him  of  his  raiment  and  wounded  him,  and  departed, 
leaving  him  half  dead. 

"  '31.  And  by  chance  there  came  down  a  cer- 
tain Priest  that  way,  and  when  he  saw  him  he  passed 
by  on  the  other  side. 

"  '32.  And  likewise  a  Levite,  when  he  was  at  the 
place,  came  and  looked  on  him,  and  passed  by  on  the 
other  side. 


190  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 


<<  < i 


'33.  But  a  certain  Samaritan,  as  he  journeyed, 
came  where  he  was,  and  when  he  saw  him,  he  had 
compassion  upon  him. 

"  '34.  And  went  to  him,  and  bound  up  his 
wounds,  pouring  oil  and  wine,  and  set  him  on  his 
own  beast,  and  brought  him  to  an  inn,  and  took  care 
of  him. 

"  '35.  And  on  the  morrow,  when  he  departed  he 
took  out  two  pence,  and  gave  them  to  the  host,  and 
said  unto  him;  Take  care  of  him,  and  whatsoever 
thou  spendest  more,  when  I  come  again,  I  will  repay 
thee.' 

"The  circumstances  and  the  localities  are  precisely 
similar,  and  is  the  attitude  of  Christians  to  Mohame- 
dans  very  different  from  that  of  the  Jew  to  the 
Samaritan  1 ' ' 


Though  my  father  had  retired  from  practice  his 
hand  as  a  surgical  instrument  had  not  lost  its  cun- 
ning, nor  had  he  forfeited  by  disuse  or  age  that 
keen  instinct  which  enabled  him  to  diagnose  disease 
by  facial  expression  or  such  secondary  signs.  On  the 
Nile  he  had  acquired  a  reputation  as  a  great  hakim 
or  physician.  Once  when  we  were  just  casting  off 
from  Luxor  an  Arab  hurried  on  board  from  a  boat 
which  had  come  up  the  river.  He  besought  my  father 
to  go  and  see  his  master.  He  found  a  magnificent  old 
fellow  returning  to  the  interior.  He  was  one  of 
those  objectionable  Arab  traders  who  dealt  in  human 
beings  as  well  as  amber  beads,  but  he  was  suffering 
from  an  acute  attack  of  pneumonia.    We  delayed  our 


ILL-HEALTH  AND  TRAVELS  191 

departure  for  a  week  till  the  patient  was  out  of 
danger.  In  his  gratitude  he  offered  to  send  my 
father  a  hippopotamus.  It  was  not  the  first  time  in 
his  life  my  father  refused  a  fee. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

HE  BECOMES  INTERESTED  IN   THE   CARE  OP  THE   INSANE 
AND  IN  THE  QUEBEC  LUNATIC  ASYLUM 

As  early  as  1824  a  special  committee  was  appointed 
to  report  on  the  provision  made  for  the  insane  in  the 
Province  of  Quebec.  The  unfortunates  were  then 
cared  for  in  three  hospitals— that  of  the  Grey  Nuns, 
the  Hospital  General  of  Quebec ;  in  the  Hospital  Gen- 
eral in  Montreal,  conducted  by  the  nuns  of  the  same 
order;  and  the  hospital  of  the  Ursulines  in  Three 
Rivers.  A  few  were  confined  in  the  gaols.  The  Com- 
mittee reported  that  in  the  General  Hospital  of  Que- 
bec there  were  18  cells,  whose  dimensions  were 
8'x7y2'x8'  high,  and  six  more  cells  9'x9'x9'  for  less 
violent  patients.  The  cells  in  the  Montreal  General 
Hospital  were  8'x6'3"x7'10"  high.  The  six  cells  of 
the  Ursuline  Hospital  at  Three  Rivers  were  8'x6'x8'. 
The  evidence  was  to  the  effect  that  the  cells  were  oc- 
cupied day  and  night,  the  patients  seldom  leaving 
them  except  once  in  eight  days  when  their  cells  were 
cleaned  out  and  their  clothes  changed.  The  diet  was 
that  of  the  Hospital  patients.  Light  was  admitted 
through  a  small  window  or  a  bull's  eye  in  each  cell 
and  the  only  ventilation  was  through  a  grilled  open- 


194  MY  FATHER'S  JOUENAL 

ing  above  the  door,  by  which  also  heat  entered  from 
a  corridor.  An  open  trough  in  each  cell  leading  into 
a  common  drain  carried  off  the  excreta.  The  com- 
mittee exonerates  the  religions  ladies  from  all  blame, 
as  they  were  acting  up  to  their  light,  and  each  hos- 
pital was  under  the  charge  of  an  eminent  medical 
man,  Dr.  Holmes  being  the  attendant  of  the  Quebec 
General  Hospital.  The  Reverend  Lady  Superior 
of  the  Three  Rivers  establishment  when  asked  the 
question  as  to  whether  the  treatment  and  accommo- 
dations were  calculated  to  assist  in  the  cure  of  the 
patients,  sincerely  answered  that  "The  insane  re- 
ceive the  treatment  proper  for  their  cure,  and  their 
accommodation  is  such  that  they  can  be  treated  in  a 
manner  to  relieve  their  suffering,  which  is  done  with 
the  tenderest  care."  This  opinion  is  expressed  just 
after  the  Lady  Superior  testified  that  the  insane  are 
immured  day  and  night  in  the  same  cell,  but  that  one 
of  their  four  patients  is  sane  enough  to  be  permitted 
to  take  the  air  and  some  exercise  for  a  few  days  each 
month. 

The  number  of  insane  in  the  Province  was  not 
great.  The  Committee  found  that  since  1800,  66 
male  and  45  female  patients  were  confined  as  insane 
in  the  Quebec  General  Hospital,  and  in  the  General 
Hospital  of  Montreal  84  patients— "and  that  the  cells 
appropriated  to  the  insane  of  the  Province  do  not 
permit  of  properly  applying  either  moral  or  medical 
treatment  for  care  of  the  insane,"  and  that  the  sum 
paid  for  their  support  and  treatment  would  have 
built  a  well  equipped  asylum  "which  would  have 


CAKE  OF  THE  INSANE  195 

done  honor  to  the  humanity  and  philanthropy  of  the 
Country." 

The  report  was  printed  but  never  acted  upon,  and 
this  inhuman  treatment  continued  to  be  practised  till 
1845,  when  my  father  and  two  partners  made  a  con- 
tract to  care  for  the  insane.  Since  then  they  have 
received  proper  care,  but  the  vicious  system  of  farm- 
ing out  has  been  perpetuated  in  the  Province  of 
Quebec. 

Thus  it  came  about  that  my  father  for  twenty 
years  was  devoted  heart  and  soul  to  this  branch  of 
medical  science.  He  has  told  in  his  autobiographical 
sketch  of  his  association  with  Dr.  Morrin  and  Dr. 
Fremont  in  this  enterprise.  They  were  earnest  and 
congenial  fellow-workers  till  Dr.  Morrin 's  death.  My 
father's  share  was  originally  one-half,  and  that  of 
each  of  the  others  one-quarter,  in  the  cost  and  profits 
of  the  enterprise.  On  Dr.  Morrin 's  death  in  1861 
Dr.  Fremont  bought  his  share.  He  and  my  father 
were  therefore  equal  partners  till  1863,  when  Dr. 
Fremont  died.  Dr.  Landry,  a  French  Canadian  med- 
ical man,  agreeable  to  my  father  and  the  govern- 
ment, purchased  half  of  Dr.  Fremont's  interest  in 
the  Asylum  and  the  contract. 

Some  of  the  incidents  connected  with  my  father's 
ownership  and  disposal  of  his  interest  were  matters 
of  public  notoriety— others  of  them  were  not  so  well 
known. 

The  system  of  "farming  out"  the  insane  had  always 
existed,  and  in  1845  was  perpetuated  through  an 
urgent  popular  call  for  immediate  action.  The  first 
report  published  by  the  contractor  after  the  applica- 


196  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

tion  of  modern  methods  to  the  care  of  the  insane,  gives 
interesting  details  of  the  old  methods  of  treating  the 
patients,  and  of  the  amelioration  of  their  condition 
secured  by  hastily  improvised  provisions.  These  early 
reports  are  very  rare  and  portions  of  them  are  worthy 
of  reprinting  as  public  documents.  Though  the  tempor- 
ary asylum  was  opened  in  1845,  the  first  published  re- 
port was  not  issued  till  1849.  It  was  addressed  to  the 
Commissioners  of  the  Lower  Canada  Lunatic  Asylum. 

GENTLEMEN  — 

We,  the  Managers  of  the  Temporary  Lunatic  Asylum,  at 
Beauport,  beg  leave  very  respectfully  to  lay  before  you  the 
following  Repobt,  having  reference  to  the  state  and  condi- 
tion of  the  patients  entrusted  to  our  care  by  the  Government, 
and  to  the  mode  in  which  they  have  been  treated  during  the 
past  three  years. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  last  century,  an  order  in  Coun- 
cil was  passed,  authorizing  an  appropriation  for  the  main- 
tenance of  insane  persons  in  the  Province  of  Lower  Canada. 
These  insane  persons  were  intrusted  to  the  care  of  certain 
religious  communities  in  the  respective  districts  of  Montreal, 
Quebec,  and  Three  Rivers;  the  Government  paying  a  yearly 
sum  of  about  £32  10s.  for  the  support  of  each  patient. 

[The  sum  allowed  by  Government  for  the  support 
of  each  patient  was  one  shilling  and  eight  pence  per 
diem :  there  were  besides  occasional  appropriations  for 
the  repairs  of  the  building  and  fence.] 

As  in  similar  institutions  in  Europe,  at  this  period,  insane 
persons  were  confined  merely  as  unmanageable,  or  as  dan- 
gerous to  the  community,  or  to  themselves.  No  measures 
were  adopted  for  their  restoration  to  reason.  They  were  shut 
up  in  separate  cells,  were  debarred  intercourse  with  the  world 
and  with  each  other,  were  left  to  brood  over  their  disordered 
fancies,  until  they  became  maniacal,  tore  their  clothes,  became 
filthy  in  their  habits,  and  from  a  well  known  law  of  nature, 


CAEE  OF  THE  INSANE  197 

that  the  faculties  become  dormant  for  want  of  exercise, 
became  imbecile  or  idiotic.  Occasionally  a  patient  was  re- 
moved by  his  friends;  rarely  was  one  discharged  restored  to 
reason.  Over  the  portals  of  these  receptacles  might,  with 
truth,  have  been  engraved  the  well-known  lines  of  Dante: 
"0  vol  che  intrate,  lasciate  la  speranza." 

Strong  representations  were  made  from  time  to  time  by 
different  Grand  Juries,  of  the  general  unfitness  of  these  recep- 
tacles, of  their  filthy  condition,  of  the  damp  and  want  of 
ventilation  of  the  cells,  and  of  the  general  treatment  of  the 
unfortunate  inmates. 

In  justice  to  the  religious  ladies,  it  must  be  said,  that  they 
themselves  were  desirous  to  be  relieved  from  their  charge, 
and  repeatedly  urged  the  unfitness  of  the  place  of  confinement 
and  the  necessity  of  better  means  of  accommodation  for  the 
patients  under  their  care. 

In  1843,  Sir  C.  Metcalfe  assumed  the  Government  of  the 
Canadas,  and  in  his  first  speech  at  the  opening  of  the  House, 
urged  the  necessity  of  an  improved  system  of  treatment  for 
the  insane.  During  the  session  notice  was  given,  by  the  Hon. 
T.  C.  Aylwin,  of  his  intention  to  bring  in  a  Bill  to  provide 
for  the  care  and  treatment  of  the  insane,  but  owing  to  the 
press  of  other  business,  the  session  passed  over  without  any 
action  being  taken  in  the  matter. 

During  the  subsequent  recess,  the  Governor  General  caused 
the  different  places  in  which  the  insane  were  confined,  to  be 
visited,  and  estimates  formed  of  the  expense  of  their  removal 
to  the  country,  and  of  the  cost  of  their  care,  maintenance,  and 
medical  treatment. 

At  the  subsequent  meeting  of  the  Legislature,  the  Governor 
General  again  brought  the  subject  of  Asylums  for  the  insane 
before  the  House,  but  the  session  was  extremely  short,  and 
passed  over  without  any  further  reference  being  made  to 
the  matter. 

During  the  summer  of  1845,  His  Excellency  having  made 
an  agreement  with  the  undersigned,  directed  the  insane  per- 
sons then  confined  in  the  Districts  of  Quebec  and  Three  Rivers 
to  be  removed  to  a  place  fitted  up  for  their  temporary  recep- 
tion at  Beauport  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Quebec,  and  where 


198  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

they  were  accordingly  removed  on  the  16th  September,  1845. 
At  this  time  the  insane  persons  in  the  District  of  Montreal 
were  confined  in  the  jail;  this  however,  was  destitute  of 
almost  every  requisite  for  a  Lunatic  Asylum.  It  was  sur- 
rounded by  buildings,  there  was  no  land  on  which  the  patients 
could  be  employed,  the  yards  were  insufficient  for  exercise, 
and  moreover,  the  building  was  required  for  its  more  legiti- 
mate purposes.  Under  these  circumstances,  the  Governor 
General  directed  the  removal  of  the  insane  from  the  District 
of  Montreal  to  the  Temporary  Asylum  at  Beauport.  This 
Temporary  Asylum  was  situated  2%  miles  from  Quebec,  and 
was  leased  for  the  purpose  from  Col.  Gugy,  M.  P.  P. 

The  property  comprised  the  Manor  House,  an  extensive 
block  of  outbuildings  of  stone,  and  about  two  hundred  acres 
of  land.  The  grounds  were  diversified,  were  sufficiently  well 
wooded,  had  a  southern  exposure,  and  commanded  a  magnificent 
view  of  the   city  and  harbour  of   Quebec. 

The  principal  building  was  capable  of  being  fitted  up  to 
accommodate  120  patients,  with  their  attendants. 

On  the  10th  September,  the  arrangements  were  completed 
for  the  reception  of  100  patients.  The  apartments  consisted 
of  a  public  dining  room,  a  corridor  for  male  patients,  108  feet 
by  12  wide,  with  bed-rooms  opening  into  it,  containing  40 
beds,  and  one  large  dormitory  containing  24  beds.  The  female 
patients  occupied  a  day-room  36  by  18,  a  work-room  40  by 
22,  and  five  bed-rooms  containing  40  beds.  Several  female 
patients  capable  of  sewing  or  being  otherwise  employed,  were 
lodged  with  the  Warden  and  Matron  in  the  Manor  House. 

On  the  morning  of  the  15th  September,  1845,  the  insane 
persons  in  charge  of  the  religious  ladies  of  the  General  Hos- 
pital in  Quebec,  were  transferred  to  the  Asylum  at  Beauport. 
Much  interest  was  felt  by  the  undersigned  in  the  removal  of 
these  unfortunate  beings.  One  had  been  confined  28  years, 
several  upwards  of  20  years,  and  the  remainder  for  various 
lesser  periods.  During  the  whole  of  this  time  they  had  been 
shut  up  in  separate  cells,  in  a  low,  one  story  building,  and 
surrounded  by  a  strong  cedar  fence,  12  feet  high.  They  had 
never  been  permitted  to  leave  the  building,  most  of  them  had 
never  been  allowed  to  leave  the  separate  small  cells  in  which 


CARE  OF  THE  INSANE  199 

they  had  been  confined;  and,  excepting  on  an  occasional  visit 
from  the  Grand  Jury,  they  had  rarely  seen  any  person  but 
those  who  ministered  to  their  urgent  wants.  Of  these  patients, 
almost  all  were  filthy  in  their  habits;  many  were  considered 
destructive;  and  the  remainder  had  become  imbecile  or 
idiotic. 

They  were  removed  in  open  carriages  and  in  cabs.  They 
offered  no  resistance;  on  the  contrary,  they  were  delighted 
with  the  ride;  and  the  view  of  the  city,  the  river,  trees,  and 
the  passers  by,  excited  in  them  the  most  pleasurable  emo- 
tions.— On  their  arrival  at  the  Asylum  at  Beauport,  they 
were  placed  together  at  table  to  breakfast;  and  it  was  most 
interesting  to  witness  the  propriety  of  their  conduct,  to  watch 
their  actions,  to  listen  to  their  conversation  with  each  other, 
and  to  remark  the  amazement  with  which  they  regarded  every- 
thing around  them.  All  traces  of  ferocity,  turbulence  and 
noise  had  suddenly  vanished;  they  found  themselves  again 
in  the  world,  and  treated  like  rational  beings;  and  they  en- 
deavored to  behave  as  such.  One,  a  man  of  education  and 
talents,  whose  mind  was  in  fragments,  but  whose  recollection 
of  a  confinement  of  28  years  was  most  vivid,  wandered  from 
window  to  window.  He  saw  Quebec,  and  knew  it  to  be  a  city; 
he  knew  ships  and  boats  on  the  river  and  bay,  but  could  not 
comprehend  steamers.  Before  leaving  the  General  Hospital, 
the  Nuns  had  clothed  him  well  and  given  him  a  pair  of  shoes. 
He  remarked  that  he  had  been  a  long  time  shut  up,  and 
that  it  was  19  years  since  he  had  last  seen  leather.  Another, 
a  man  who  had  been  confined  20  years,  and  who  had  always 
evinced  a  turbulent  disposition,  demanded  a  broom,  and  com- 
menced sweeping;  he  insisted  on  the  others  employing  them- 
selves also.  He  observed,  "these  poor  people  are  all  fools,  and 
if  you  will  give  me  a  constable's  staff,  you  will  see  how 
I   will  manage  them,   and  make  them  work." 

As  soon  as  their  muscular  powers  were  sufficiently  restored, 
the  patients  were  induced  to  employ  themselves  in  occupa- 
tions the  most  congenial  to  their  former  habits  and  tastes. 
Some  worked  in  the  garden,  others  preferred  sawing  and 
splitting  wood.  The  female  patients  were  taken  out  daily,  and 
many  of  them  engaged  in  weeding  in  the  garden. 


200  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

The  effects  of  this  system  were  soon  apparent  in  their  im- 
proved health  and  spirits;  they  became  stronger,  and  ate  and 
slept  better.  Some  of  them  were  restored  to  reason.  One 
had  been  confined  many  years  in  a  cell  in  the  General  Hos- 
pital; 13  months  after  his  removal  to  the  Asylum  at  Beauport, 
he  was  restored  to  his  family  and  friends;  another  had  also 
been  an  inmate  of  a  cell  several  years,  and  after  her  discharge 
from  the  Asylum,  engaged  as  a  School  Teacher.  The  other 
patients  generally,  though  greatly  improved,  afforded  small 
prospect  of  recovery;  the  disease  of  the  brain  had  become 
chronic  or  organic,  and  their  faculties  and  mental  powers 
had  been  so  weakened  by  long  disease,  as  to  preclude  any 
reasonable  hope  of  restoring  them  to  society  and  to  their 
friends.  It  is,  however,  gratifying  to  be  able  to  state  that 
of  all  those  removed  from  the  General  Hospital  to  the 
Asylum  at  Beauport,  one  only  has  been  subject  to  even 
temporary  restraint. 

On  the  28th  Sept.  1845,  the  insane  patients,  52  in  number, 
were  transferred  from  the  Jail  in  Montreal  to  the  Asylum  at 
Beauport.  As  a  class  they  were  much  more  violent  and 
destructive  than  the  patients  previously  admitted  from  the 
other  districts.  Their  cases,  however,  were  more  curable, 
and  their  minds  less  weakened  by  long  confinement. 

On  the  5th  October,  the  insane  patients,  7  in  number,  were 
brought  down  from  Three  Rivers.  Their  condition  was  much 
more  deplorable  than  that  of  the  patients  admitted  from  Que- 
bec. They  arrived  chained  and  handcuffed.  We  were  in- 
formed by  their  keepers  that  some  of  them  had  been  kept 
fastened  to  staples  driven  into  the  floors  of  their  respective 
cells.  When  approached,  they  shewed  a  disposition  to  bite, 
even  after  their  hands  and  feet  had  been  unfastened.  No 
appearance  of  violence  or  turbulence  was  evinced  after  their 
admission  into  the  Asylum;  on  the  contrary,  they  were  found 
extremely  harmless  and  docile. 

One  of  these  patients,  a  Canadian,  and  a  powerfully  made 
man,  was  pointed  out  by  his  keeper  as  being  extremely  violent 
and  dangerous.  He  strongly  opposed  his  being  unfastened; 
this  however  was  done  on  board  of  the  steamer,  and  he  was 
conducted  to  a  cab,  which  he  entered  without  any  opposition 


CARE  OF  THE  INSANE  201 

or  reluctance.  He  answered  to  the  name  of  Jacques,  but  could 
give  no  account  of  himself  whatever.  He  had  been  picked 
up  in  the  woods  on  the  River  St.  Maurice,  with  his  feet  frozen, 
and  had  been  confined  in  the  cells  at  Three  Rivers  during  a 
period  of  seven  years.  A  few  days  after  his  removal  to 
Beauport,  observing  a  man  sawing  wood,  he  pushed  him 
aside,  took  the  saw  and  used  it  himself;  this  seemed  to  afford 
him  great  pleasure.  When  not  so  employed  out  of  doors,  his 
constant  amusement  was  in  fishing.  He  would  stand  for 
hours  together  as  if  using  a  rod  and  line,  and  sometimes  as 
if  fishing  through  a  hole  in  the  ice.  He  was  found  to  be  quite 
inoffensive  and  harmless.  He  died  of  diseased  lungs  on  the 
7th  March,  1846.  Soon  after  his  death,  his  brother  and  son 
arrived  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Montreal  in  search  of  him, 
being  attracted  by  a  notice  in  the  public  prints,  that  an  insane 
man,  who  could  give  no  account  of  himself  had  been  found 
wandering  in  one  of  the  parishes  below  Quebec,  and  sent  to 
the  Asylum  at  Beauport.  His  friends  stated  that  Jacques 
had  escaped  from  their  charge  several  years  before,  and  that 
not  being  able  to  trace  him,  or  gain  any  tidings  of  him, 
they  concluded  that  he  had  perished  in  the  woods. 

On  the  5th  October,  1845,  the  whole  number  of  patients 
in  the  Asylum  was  82.  Since  then  the  number  has  been 
gradually  increasing,  and  additional  rooms  have  been  from 
time  to  time  fitted  up  as  well  to  accommodate  this  increasing 
number  as  to  afford  the  means  of  their  more  complete  separa- 
tion and  classification. 

On  the  1st  October,  1848,  the  period  expired  during  which 
the  undersigned  had  engaged  with  the  Government  for  the 
care,  maintenance,  and  medical  treatment  of  the  insane  from 
the  different  districts  in  C.  E.  and  they  take  the  occasion  of 
their  entering  into  another  engagement  for  a  further  period, 
to  lay  before  the  Commissioners  a  statement  of  what  has 
been  done  during  the  past  three  years,  in  their  endeavours  to 
carry  out  the  intentions  of  the  Government  to  ameliorate 
the   condition  of   the   insane. 

STATE  OF  PATIENTS  ON  ADMISSION. 

On  the  1st  of  October,  1845,  there  were  82  patients  in  the 
Asylum.     Of  these  more  than  60  were  considered  as  affording 


202  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

very  faint  or  no  hopes  of  recovery.  Most  of  these  had  suffered 
so  greatly  from  long  confinement  and  restraint,  as  to  present 
body  and  mind  equally  broken  down  and  diseased.  One  died 
within  24  hours  after  admission,  two  more  within  15  days, 
and   eleven  within   the   ensuing   12   months. 

From  the  1st  October,  1845,  to  1st  October,  1848,  there 
have  been  admitted  152  cases:  the  greater  number  of  these 
had  been  for  years  previous  to  their  admission  subject  to 
treatment  which  tended  to  confirm  their  disease.  Few  recent 
cases  were  brought  to  the  Asylum,  or  until  they  could  be  no 
longer  taken  care  of  by  their  friends,  in  consequence  of  their 
dangerous  propensities,  or  filthy  habits.  Some  had  been  con- 
fined in  Jail  as  dangerous,  and  had  been  allowed  to  remain 
there  for  months  before  their  removal  to  the  Asylum.  Very 
many  of  the  patients  have  arrived  tied,  chained  and  excoriated, 
furious  and  excited  by  restraint,  and  impaired  in  health  by 
long  continued  seclusion. 

These  cases  presented  almost  every  variety  of  insanity, 
homicidal,  furious,  suicidal,  melancholy,  religious  and  gay. 
One  was  admitted  with  his  windpipe  divided;  several,  after 
different  suicidal  attempts.  One,  a  powerful  man,  had  been 
tied  for  some  time  to  his  bed,  before  admission,  and  the  cords 
on  his  wrists  had  been  so  tightened  by  his  furious  endeavours 
to  get  loose,  as  to  induce  mortification  of  both  his  hands.  We 
are  convinced  from  our  observation  and  experience,  that  of 
the  incurables  now  in  the  Asylum,  three-fourths  are  so  from 
the  want  of  proper  treatment  in  an  Asylum,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  their  disease.  Nothing  is  more  strongly  impressed 
on  our  minds  than  the  fact,  that  on  the  first  attack  of  in- 
sanity, time  lost  in  the  treatment  of  the  complaint  is  seldom 
recovered.  Of  all  those  admitted  during  the  past  three  years, 
43  only  have  been  recent  cases.  Of  these  21  have  been  dis- 
charged, cured,  and  only  2  have  had  a  return  of  mental  disease. 
It  is  thus  obviously  a  matter  of  economy,  apart  from  humane 
considerations,  to  secure  for  the  insane  prompt  and  efficient 
medical  treatment  at  the  early  stage  of  their  disease. 
RESTRAINT. 

In  undertaking  a  charge  which  involved  so  great  an  amount 
of    responsibility,    we    availed   ourselves   of    every   obtainable 


CAKE  OF  THE  INSANE  203 

information  from  similar  institutions,  as  well  in  Europe  as 
in  the  United  States.  The  result  of  our  inquiries  was  a 
conviction  that  the  greatest  amount  of  good  was  to  be  effected 
by  an  uniform  and  unvarying  system  of  conciliation  and 
kindness.  This  system  carried  into  full  effect  by  intelligent 
and  active  servants,  we  have  found  to  answer  admirably.  At 
first  a  chair,  made  to  confine  the  arms,  was  used,  but  was 
shortly  abandoned  for  the  leather  strap  and  wrist  bands  or 
mitts;  this  has  been  the  only  restraining  apparatus  used  in 
the  Asylum  for  upwards  of  two  years.  It  allows  the  patients 
to  take  free  exercise  either  in  or  out  of  doors,  and  prevents 
any  injury  they  might  be  disposed  to  inflict  either  on  them- 
selves or  on  others.  Even  this  apparatus  is  very  rarely  em- 
ployed; its  use  has  been  in  a  great  measure  superseded  by 
increased  capacity  and  watchfulness  on  the  part  of  the  at- 
tendants, and  these  qualities  in  the  attendants  have,  on 
the  other  hand,  been  brought  into  more  active  exercise  by  the 
disuse  of   restraining  apparatus. 

Seclusion,  as  a  means  of  restraint,  is  occasionally,  but 
very  seldom  resorted  to,  and  then  only  for  a  very  short  period, 
during  a  paroxysm:  and  when  long  continued,  we  have  rea- 
son to  believe  it  to  be  injurious  to  the  patient,  and  only  to  be 
sanctioned  by  extreme  necessity.  Restraint,  whether  by  means 
of  the  body  strap  and  mitts  or  by  seclusion,  are  only  per- 
mitted to  be  employed  by  the  order  and  under  the  immediate 
superintendance  of  the  resident   Physician  or  Warden. 

All  violence,  abusive  language,  or  threats,  on  the  part  of 
the  attendants  towards  the  patients,  is  punished  by  immediate 
dismissal;  and  we  are  happy  to  say  that  only  on  two  occasions 
have  instances  of  abuse  been  brought  under  our  notice  during 
the  past  three  years. 

EMPLOYMENT. 

Among   the   means   which   we   have    found  most  useful   in 
tranquillizing  the  insane,  and  in  enabling  us  to  dispense  so 
fully  with  the  use  of  restraint,  exercise  and  employment  in 
the  open  air  may  be  reckoned  as  the  most  useful. 
AMUSEMENTS. 

In  several  cases  we  have  found  music  and  dancing  of  great 
benefit  as  remedial  agents.    In  one  case  they  roused  a  patient 


204  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

from  a  state  of  the  most  abject  melancholy,  and  gave  a 
stimulus  to  his  mental  faculties,  which  resulted  in  perfect 
recovery.  In  another  case  they  effected  a  change  from  a  state 
of  melancholy  with  strong  suicidal  propensities,  to  a  state  of 
cheerfulness  and  enjoyment,  which  still  continues,  and  is  like- 
ly also  to  result  in  cure.  Whatever  opinion  may  be  formed 
of  dancing  by  the  sane,  it  is  unquestionably  a  legitimate  and 
fitting  source  of  amusement  for  insane  persons. 

[There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  authorship  of  this 
last  sentence.  My  father  though  he  may  not  have 
practiced  all  John  Wesley's  precepts  had  a  horror  of 
dancing.] 

By  the  statement  of  admissions,  discharges  and  deaths,  it 
will  be  seen  that  of  234  cases  admitted  during  the  past  three 
years,  109  were  cases  of  long  standing,  and  in  whom  of 
consequence  the  chances  of  cure  were  very  much  reduced. 
It  is  to  be  expected  that  the  majority  of  the  cases  to  be  ad- 
mitted for  some  time  to  come,  will  also  be  cases  of  consider- 
able standing,  and  of  course  with  a  small  average  of  re- 
coveries. Extreme  reluctance  was  manifested  on  the  part 
of  the  friends  of  insane  persons  to  send  them  to  such  re- 
ceptacles as  existed  some  years  ago;  this  reluctance  still 
exists.  The  idea  of  an  Asylum  is  still  associated  with  dark 
cells,  with  furious  madness,  chains,  straw,  filth,  and  naked- 
ness. Some  time  will  yet  elapse  ere  the  friends  of  insane 
persons  in  Canada  will  send  them  to  an  Asylum  for  the 
mere  purpose  of  cure,  with  a  full  assurance  that  as  much 
quiet,  cleanliness,  order  and  subordination  exist,  as  in  any 
Hospital  for  the  cure  of  any  other  disease. 

The  building  now  occupied  as  an  Asylum,  though  the  best 
that  could  be  obtained  at  the  time,  was  not  built  for  the 
purpose,  and  is  manifestly  inadequate.  It  does  not  afford  us 
the  means  of  carrying  out  our  wishes  and  intentions  as  to 
the  complete  separation  and  classification  of  the  patients,  and 
from  their  increasing  number  it  has  become  necessary  to  re- 
move several  of  them  to  another  building  on  the  property  of 
the  late  Judge  De  Bonne.  These  circumstances,  under  an 
arrangement  with  Government  for  a  further  period  of  seven 


CO 

< 

u 

EH 


CAHE  OF  THE  INSANE  205 

years,  have  decided  us  to  erect  an  Hospital  of  such  an  extent 
and  with  such  arrangements  as  will  combine  every  thing 
necessary  to  the  cure  of  persons  afflicted  with  mental  disease. 
The  necessary  contracts  have  been  entered  into,  for  the  erec- 
tion of  the  Hospital  on  the  plan  herewith  submitted,  and  we 
confidently  hope  to  be  able  to  remove  the  patients  from 
the  present  to  the  contemplated  new  Asylum,  during  the 
month  of  September  next. 

The  Government,  relieved  by  the  contract  from 
taking  immediate  action,  did  nothing,  as  is  usual  with 
Governments.  But  they  resorted  to  the  easiest  expe- 
dient, as  told  in  the  last  paragraph  of  the  first  re- 
port—they renewed  the  contract  for  seven  years  on 
condition  that  suitable  buildings  be  erected.  These 
were  built  on  the  site  of  the  present  women's  build- 
ing. The  original  structure  was  architecturally  less 
hideous  than  the  present,  for  the  central  building  was 
surmounted  by  a  shapely  dome.  The  women  occu- 
pied the  west  wing;  the  men  the  east. 

From  the  second  report  issued  in  1851  the  follow- 
ing extracts  are  made: 

REPORT. 
GENTLEMEN,— 

Since  the  date  of  our  last  report,  it  has  pleased  Almighty 
God  to  bless  our  endeavours  to  restore  health  of  mind  to 
many  of  the  patients   committed  to  our   care. 

In  very  many  cases,  where  the  disease  of  the  brain  was 
of  long  duration,  or  accompanied  by  circumstances  which 
rendered  a  restoration  to  reason  nearly  or  utterly  hopeless, 
we  have  been  enabled,  at  least,  to  render  them  happy,  cheer- 
ful, contented,  and  in  many  instances,  useful. 

In  the  worst  and  most  revolting  cases,  among  the  idiotic, 
the  dangerous  and  the  filthy,  we  have,  by  steady  perseverance 
in  a  system  of  care  and  kindness,  brought  their  minds  to  as 
high    a    degree    of    enjoyment   and    comfort    as    their   merely 


206 


MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 


animal  natures  are  susceptible  of.  In  these,  and  in  the  pre- 
ceding class  of  cases,  if  we  could  not  hope  to  restore  them  to 
reason  and  to  the  world,  we  could  at  least  do  much  to  mitigate 
the  horrors  which  had  hitherto  accompanied  a  deprivation  of 
reason,  and  had  rendered  these  unfortunates  the  objects  of 
chains,  bars,  out-houses,  starvation  and  neglect. 

At  the  date  of  our  last  report  there  were  in  the  Asylum: — 


Males 

70 

Females 

60 

—  130 

There  have  been  admitted  since: — 

Males 

101 

30 

131 

The  total  number  under  treatment  since  October 

1,  1848,  up  to  the  1st  May,  1851,  has  been 

311 

Of  these  have  been  discharged: — 

Cured  Males 

28 

Females 

24 

—     52 

Improved    Males 

3 

Females 

2 

—       5 

Not   Improved   Males 

1 

Females 

1 

—       2 

59 

Have    died — Males 

46 

30 

—     76 

Remaining  1st  May,  1851: 

Males 

95 

Females 

81 

—  176 

In  our  last  Report,  we  adverted  to  the  great  numbers  of  in- 
curable cases  in  the  Asylum,  we  observed  that — 

The   opinion   expressed  has  been  most   fully  borne  out  by 


CARE  OF  THE  INSANE  207 

our  experience  since  that  time.  Of  the  181  cases  admitted 
from  October,  1848,  to  this  date,  51  may  be  considered  as 
having  been  recent,  and  as  offering  a  reasonable  hope  of  res- 
toration to  reason.  The  remainder  were  old  cases  in  whom 
body  and  mind  were  equally  broken  down.  Some  were  idiotic, 
some  paralytic,  and  many  epileptic.  The  majority  of  the 
cases  were  sent  to  the  Asylum  after  having  exhausted  the 
sympathies  and  patience  of  their  friends,  and  worn  out  even 
their  hopes  of  their  death.  One,  an  aged  man  of  82,  and 
paralytic,  was  brought  a  distance  of  180  miles,  to  die  with- 
in two  hours.  Five  others  during  this  period  were  admitted, 
whose  ages  were  from  70  to  80  years. 

Of  the  181  cases  admitted  since  October,  1848,  44  have 
recovered. 

The  remainder  as  well  as  those  brought  forward  to  date 
of  last  Report  remain  in  Hospital,  and,  with  a  few  exceptions, 
will  be  only  discharged  by  death. 

This  picture,  melancholy  as  it  undoubtedly  is,  yet  affords 
matter  for  consolation. 

The  whole  number  of  patients  now  in  the  Asylum  may 
be   classified  as   follows,   with  tolerable  correctness: — 

Reasonable  hopes    of   recovery 16 

Very  doubtful 8 

Nearly   or   quite   hopeless 152 — 176 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  this  classification  is  arbitrary. 
On  the  contrary,  many  in  whom  there  appears  now  a  reason- 
able hope  of  recovery  will  gradually  sink  into  confirmed 
lunacy,  while  occasionally  one  whose  case  now  appears  hope- 
less will  recover.  This  has  occurred  so  frequently  as  to  cause 
us  to  hesitate  before  condemning  any  individual  patient  to  the 
society  of  idiots  and  incurables,  and  thus  extinguishing  all 
hope;  for  the  same  laws  which  regulate  the  mind  in  the 
healthy,  equally  regulate  it  in  the  diseased  state.  In  society 
we  find  that  associations  with  the  virtuous  and  intelligent 
tend  to  exalt  and  ennoble  the  mind,  while  associations  with 
the  depraved  and  worthless  equally  tend  to  lower  and  de- 
base it. 

From   the    foregoing   table    it   will   be    observed   that   the 


208  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

patients  now  in  the  Asylum  are  mostly  incurable  cases,  and 
we  wish  particularly  to  direct  attention  to  the  fact,  that  the 
time  will  very  shortly  arrive  when  these  will  occupy  the  en- 
tire Asylum,  to  the  exclusion  of  recent  and  curable  cases. 

With  regard  to  restraining  apparatus,  the  mitts  have 
been  abandoned,  and  the  only  restraint  now  used  is  the  leather 
body  strap,  and  this  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the  patient 
injuring  himself, — never  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  him 
from  injuring  others.  The  less  restraining  apparatus  are 
used,  the  more  vigilant  and  watchful  do  the  attendants  be- 
come. 

In  the  almost  entire  disuse  of  restraint,  we  may  observe, 
that  no  successful  suicide  has  taken  place,  and  no  serious 
injury  has  at  any  time  been  inflicted  by  any  patient,  either  on 
himself  or  on  others. 

The  building  referred  to  in  our  last  report  has  been  fully 
occupied  since  April,  1850.  It  is  constructed  of  grey  lime- 
stone, hammer-dressed  and  laid  in  courses.  It  is  covered 
with  slates,  and  surmounted  by  a  dome  and  lantern.  The 
front,  including  the  wings,  is  418  feet. — The  building  consists 
of  two  stories,  with  basements  and  attics.  The  basement  is 
devoted  to  kitchen,  offices,  cellars  and  furnace  rooms.  The 
first  story  contains  Physician's  and  Superintendent's  offices, 
a  dining  room  on  each  side,  40  x  40,  corridors  or  day-rooms, 
130  x  20,  with  bed-rooms,  bath  and  wash-rooms.  The  second 
story  contains  a  dining-room  on  each  side,  corridors  80  x  20. 
The  remainder  of  this  story  is  divided  into  bed-rooms  and 
dormitories;  the  attics  are  divided  into  large  work-rooms  in 
front,  and  bed-rooms  in  each  wing.  The  lodges  are  situated 
at  the  extremity  of  each  wing,  and  consist  of  four  day-rooms 
and  thirty-two  bed-rooms. 

The  whole,  as  now  finished,  is  capable  of  affording  ample 
accommodation  for  275  patients. 

Referring  to  certain  architectural  details  of  the 
new  buildings  the  contractors  say: 

"Of  the  minor  architectural  arrangements,  and  the  internal 
management   of    the    Asylum,    your    frequent   visits    leave   us 


CAEE  OF  THE  INSANE  209 

little  to  remark.  We  may  merely  observe  that  the  lands  and 
buildings,  as  now  completed,  have  caused  us  an  expenditure 
in  money  of  upwards  of  £12,000,  and  that  something  yet 
remains  to  be  expended  in  out-houses  and  work-shops.  We 
have  hitherto  been  guided  by  a  desire  to  adopt  every  architec- 
tural arrangement,  and  every  modern  improvement  which 
could  in  any  way  conduce  to  the  comfort,  enjoyment,  welfare 
and  safe-keeping  of  the  insane,  and  we  have  done  so  without 
regard  to  merely  economical  considerations,  and  on  a  scale 
which  leaves  us  little  hope  of  being  remunerated  for  our  out- 
lay and  exertions.  It  must  be  apparent  to  every  one  that  an 
Asylum  cannot  be  conducted  at  the  same  amount  of  expen- 
diture as  an  ordinary  hospital  or  poor-house;  the  general 
arrangements  are  much  more  costly;  the  wear  and  tear  of 
bedding  and  clothing;  the  number  of  attendants  and  servants; 
the  quality  and  cost  of  diet,  are  all  much  greater." 

The  next  report  published  was  issued  in  1855.  The 
fourth  in  1858.  It  reverts  to  a  subject  which  always 
worried  the  Management,  viz.,  crowding  the  wards 
with  incurables,  most  of  whom  were  harmless  but 
too  hopelessly  deficient  in  mind  to  be  cured.  They 
could  not  be  made  useful  at  home  and  therefore  were 
foisted  on  the  public.  The  proportion  of  this  class 
of  the  insane  in  Quebec  is  large,  and  that  of  the 
maniacal  class  very  small.  The  report  for  1858 
recalls  the  attention  of  the  authorities  to  the  crowd- 
ing out  of  recent  cases  by  the  chronic  insane  and 
by  old  men  and  women  suffering  from  other  diseases 
as  well  as  mental,  which  were  discussed  in  previous 
reports  apparently  to  no  purpose.     It  continues: 

We  regret  that  the  report  now  submitted  to  you,  shews 
no  improvement  whatever   in  this   respect. 

From  the  tables  of  admissions,  discharges  and  deaths  it 
will    be    seen    that    of    the    143    admitted    during    the    past 


210  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

year,  55  only  were  recent  cases,  or  which  afforded  any 
reasonable  hope  of  recovery;  of  the  remainder,  69  were  old 
persons,  or  demented,  or  idiots,  to  whom  the  Asylum  affords 
only  a  comfortable  home  until  death. 

Nineteen  were  fatally  ill  with  organic  disease  on  their 
admission:  of  these  14  have  already  died, — one  within  6 
weeks;  4  within  5  weeks;  1  within  12  days;  and  1  within 
8  days;  and,  in  all  human  probability,  8  more  of  those  ad- 
mitted during  the  past  year  will  be,  in  a  very  few  weeks, 
consigned  to  the  grave. 

Of  the  143  cases  admitted  during  the  past  year,  4  were 
upwards  of  70  years  old;  5  were  upwards  of  67;  and  5  were 
upwards  of  60  years. 

Of  the  143  cases  admitted  during  the  past  year,  17  have 
died;  their  pathological  condition  was:  5  exhaustion;  3  con- 
sumption; 4  chronic  bowel  complaint;  1  disease  of  heart;  1 
dropsy;  2  palsy;  1  inflammation  of  lungs. 

By  reference  to  the  tables,  it  will  be  observed  that  the 
number  of  patients  in  the  Asylum  is  steadily  increasing. — 
The  steady  increase  of  the  population  of  the  province  will 
more  than  account  for  the  increased  demand  for  admission; 
and  the  very  liberal  sum  which  the  benevolence  of  the  Gov- 
ernment has  granted  for  the  care  and  maintenance  of  the  in- 
sane, has,  no  doubt,  been  the  cause  of  inducing  many  persons 
to  send  old  and  chronic  cases  to  the  Asylum — cases  which 
would  and  ought  to  have  remained  under  the  care  of  their 
friends. 

As  we  very  properly  are  relieved  from  any  responsibility 
connected  with  the  admission  of  the  patients,  we  are  not 
prepared  to  say  that  the  admission  of  these  aged  and  infirm 
persons  has  been  to  the  exclusion  of  recent  and  curable 
cases. 

Having  constantly  felt  the  want  of  correct  information 
on  the  state  and  condition  of  the  patients,  previous  to  their 
admission  into  the  Asylum,  the  Government,  on  the  requisi- 
tion of  your  Board,  directed  that  each  application  for  admis- 
sion should  be  accompanied  by  answers  to  certain  queries; 
among  which  the  principal  were   on  the  form   in  which  the 


CAEE  OF  THE  INSANE  211 

insanity  manifested  itself;  its  known  or  supposed  cause;  the 
duration  of  the  disease;  and  its  probable  hereditary  taint. 

The  knowledge  of  these  facts  is  of  extreme  importance  to 
us,  as  well  in  the  treatment  of  the  disease  as  in  enabling  us 
to  arrive  at  any  reliable  statistical  result.  We  regret  to  say 
that  the  intentions  of  the  Government  and  of  your  Board  have 
been  very  imperfectly  carried  out;  as  during  the  past  year, 
out  of  the  143  patients  admitted,  answers  to  these  queries 
have  only  been  furnished  in  36  cases. 

The  causes  of  insanity,  as  given  in  the  ordinary  statisti- 
cal tables  of  asylums,  are  very  numerous.  Many  of  these 
causes,  however,  may  fairly  be  considered  rather  as  effects. 

The  rural  population  of  this  province  is  particularly  ex- 
empt from  most  of  the  causes  which  are  supposed  to  induce 
insanity;  they  are  not  only  free  from  want,  or  from  a  struggle 
for  the  means  of  existence,  but  they  are  mostly  proprietors. — 
They  are  free  from  those  disturbing  religious  feelings  which, 
in  the  United  States,  are  stated  to  be  a  prolific  cause  of  in- 
sanity. They  are  an  extremely  moral  people,  and  free  from 
that  secret  vice  which  is  so  prevalent  in  other  countries; 
which,  without  doubt,  weakens  and  destroys  the  mind,  and 
of  which  we  have  so  many  deplorable  cases  in  the  Asylum. 
Intemperance,  one  of  the  most  common  causes,  and  one  which 
existed  in  great  force  a  few  years  ago,  is  now  happily  ban- 
ished in  a  great  degree  from  the  country,  and  confined  prin- 
cipally to  the  cities  and  their  neighborhood.  We  have  rea- 
son to  believe  intemperance  to  be  a  fruitful  source  of  in- 
sanity: in  stating  this  to  be  our  opinion,  we  feel  compelled, 
as  medical  men,  to  state  broadly  and  unequivocally  our 
reasons  for  it. 

It  is  a  well-known  law  of  the  animal  economy,  that  any 
organ  or  organs  unduly  excited,  suffer,  in  consequence,  a  pro- 
portionate degree  of  debility  or  exhaustion. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  due  performance  of  the  func- 
tions of  the  brain  depend  on  the  healthy  state  and  condition 
of  the  digestive  organs.  It  is  well  known  that  the  effect  of 
intoxicating  drinks  is  to  disturb  the  digestive  functions,  and 
cause    disease    of   the   organs.     Independently   of   this    reflex 


212  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

action  upon  the  brain,  the  effect  of  intoxicating  drinks  in 
immediately  disturbing  the  functions  of  the  brain  itself,  is  too 
obvious  to  require  any  statement  of  ours  to  give  it  force.  As 
this  unnatural  and  unhealthy  stimulus  acts  so  surely  and  so 
injuriously  on  the  digestive  organs,  it  acts  more  surely,  more 
speedily,  and  more  injuriously,  on  the  brain  and  nervous 
system. 

There  is  one  cause,  and  one  which  we  have  reason  to 
believe,  is  on  the  increase  in  this  province;  viz.,  hereditary 
taint.  In  the  absence  of  reliable  returns,  we  are  not  pre- 
pared to  say  in  what  proportion  of  cases  this  cause  operates. 
We  have  ample  proof  that  it  does  operate,  and  to  a  veiy  con- 
siderable extent.  We  have  already  stated  that,  during  the 
past  year,  we  have  received  answers  in  36  cases  only!  to  the 
question  "whether  insanity  was  known  to  exist  in  the  fam- 
ily?" In  twelve  of  these  it  is  certified  that  insanity  had 
manifested  itself  in  the  parents  or  in  the  immediate  blood  re- 
lations.— Nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  the  physical  and 
mental  qualities  of  parents  are  transmitted  to  their  children; 
this  is  equally  true  with  respect  to  the  transmission  of  their 
tendencies  to  specific  and  well-defined  diseases.  This  fact  is 
well  known  to  agriculturists,  and  is  acted  upon  by  them  in 
the  selection  or  rearing  of  their  stock;  although  they  them- 
selves, like  the  community  in  general,  form  matrimonial  ties 
without  any  reference  to  the  purity  of  blood  or  tendency  to 
disease  in   their  families. 

There  are  now  in  the  Asylum: — Mother  and  daughters; 
brothers;   sisters;   brothers  and  sisters. 

With  respect  to  this  hereditary  taint,  it  is  remarked  by 
Dr.  Ray,  one  of  the  most  acute  observers  in  the  United  States, 
that,  "of  all  the  physical  causes  of  insanity,  none  should  be 
more  carefully  heeded  than  this,  because  it  is,  at  the  same 
time,  the  most  prolific  and  the  most  easily  avoided. 

Patients,  however,  were  forced  on  the  contractors 
in  excess  of  the  accommodations.  A  board  of  Asylum 
and  Prison  Inspection  was  created  and  their  reports 
from  the  first  complained  of  overcrowding.    Nor  was 


CARE  OF  THE  INSANE  213 

the  complaint  easy  to  remedy  under  the  contract  sys- 
tem, especially  as  the  Government  never  obligated 
itself  to  buy  the  real  estate  of  the  contractor  at  the 
termination  of  a  contract.  The  second  contract  for 
seven  years  was  renewed  for  ten.  The  quotations 
from  the  managers'  early  reports  refer  to  the  un- 
profitable terms  of  the  contract,  which  I  think  al- 
lowed 37!/2  cents  per  day  for  feeding,  clothing  and 
housing  each  patient,  and  providing  medical  and 
nursing  attendance.  The  buildings  erected  were  use- 
less for  any  other  purpose.  To  relieve  the  over- 
crowding the  Eichardson  residence,  where  the  present 
men's  building  now  stands,  to  the  east  of  the  orig- 
inal property,  was  converted  into  very  incommodious 
overflow  quarters  for  men.  The  central  building  in 
1862-63  was  torn  down  and  rebuilt  with  two  addi- 
tional stories:  and  two  square  three-story  structures 
flanked  the  front  of  the  building,  communicating 
with  it  and  the  old  wings.  But  these  were  palpably 
insufficient  and  the  overcrowding,  as  the  jails  were 
emptied  into  the  Asylum,  became  insufferable.  Mat- 
ters became  more  and  more  intolerable  when  Con- 
federation happened  to  be  under  discussion.  The 
two  provinces  of  Upper  and  Lower  Canada  were  still 
under  one  government.  John  Macdonald  and  Etienne 
Cartier  were  virtually  joint  premiers.  My  father 
and  Dr.  Landry  met  them,  and  they  promised  a  re- 
newal of  the  contract  for  ten  years,  if  another  large 
building  to  accommodate  the  men  were  erected.  They 
were  about  starting  for  England  on  their  Confedera- 
tion mission  and  could  not  discuss  details.  But  upon 
their  assurance  of  a  renewal  of  the  contract  the  men 's 


214  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

building  was  commenced.  The  Asylum  came  un- 
der the  control  of  Hon.  Wm.  McDougall.  He  was 
an  able  man,  but  only  too  glad  if  anyone  would  re- 
lieve him  from  work.  This  the  Hon.  Hector  Longeoin 
was  only  too  willing  to  do,  and  therefore  the  details 
of  the  contract  were  turned  over  to  him.  He  imme- 
diately suggested  certain  modifications.  One  was 
that  the  resident  physician  should  be  appointed  by 
Government.  This  my  father  objected  to,  as  it  would 
introduce  divided  authority  into  the  household.  The 
proposal  was  modified  to  the  appointment  by  Govern- 
ment of  the  medical  inspector  to  be  paid  by  the 
contractor.  The  Government  however  did  not  accept 
or  reject  the  dietary  nor  the  general  rules  of  the 
establishment,  but  left  all  these  questions  on  which 
loss  or  profit  depended,  considering  the  scanty  mar- 
gin available,  open  to  the  decision  of  the  Inspector. 
It  was  evident,  therefore,  that  the  medical  contrac- 
tors, committed  to  an  expenditure  of  about  $120,000 
on  the  new  building,  could  be  placed  at  any  mo- 
ment in  a  very  precarious  financial  position.  Mac- 
donald  and  Cartier,  when  appealed  to,  were  too 
busy  with  imperial  concerns  to  interest  themselves  in  so 
trivial  a  matter.  There  was  nothing  left  but  to  sign 
the  contract  under  protest,  though  it  was  perfectly 
well  understood  that  the  protest  was  not  worth  the 
paper  it  was  written  on.  Dr.  Roy,  a  great  friend  of 
Father  Bolduc,  the  Chaplain  to  the  Asylum,  and  of 
M.  Cauchon,  then  in  both  the  Federal  and  Provincial 
Parliaments,  was  appointed  government  visiting 
physician. 


C— ch— a.  D— cl—  J  Govt.  Executive 

NOLENS   VOLENS. 


Sale  of  Lunatic  Asylum — a  Case  op  Nolens  Volens 


CARE  OF  THE  INSANE  217 

The  new  contract  worked  without  friction;  but  we 
perfectly  understood  that  to  the  local  government  and 
the  Church  my  father  was  not  a  persona  grata,  and 
that  from  some  quarter  or  other  overtures  of  pur- 
chase would  be  made.  On  the  eve  of  my  father's  de- 
parture for  Europe  in  the  fall  of  1865,  Mr. 
Joseph  Cauchon  came  to  an  Asylum  ball  with  the  in- 
tention of  broaching  the  subject  to  him,  but  they  did 
not  meet.  Soon  after  he  had  sailed,  M.  Cauchon 
approached  me.  Knowing  that  retirement  from  the 
contract  was  inevitable,  and  that  unless  we  retired 
gracefully  we  would  be  compelled  to  retreat  with 
loss,  I  in  my  father 's  absence  agreed  with  M.  Cauchon 
to  sell  one-half  at  what  the  landed  property,  the 
buildings  and  the  stores  on  hand  originally  cost,  the 
valuation  to  be  determined  by  Mr.  Vincellette,  the 
Superintendent  and  Treasurer  of  the  Asylum.  There 
was  no  concealment  during  the  negotiations  as  to  M. 
Cauchon  being  the  purchaser,  but  the  deed  was  made 
in  Dr.  Roy's  favor  and  he  signed  it.  My  father's 
other  quarter  was  bought  by  Dr.  Landry  at  $10,000, 
less  than  its  equivalent  value,  because  of  an  option 
to  repurchase  which  my  father  in  his  generosity  had 
given  to  the  widow  of  his  old  partner,  Dr.  Fremont, 
in  favor  of  any  one  of  his  sons  who  might  be  quali- 
fied to  fill  his  father's  place.  That  ultimately  Dr.  Roy 
claimed  to  own  M.  Cauchon 's  interest  and  that  M.  Cau- 
chon was  obliged  to  resign  his  seat  in  the  local  legis- 
lature for  illegally  holding  a  contract  under  govern- 
ment, were  matters  of  public  record.  To  myself  per- 
sonally retirement  from  the  Asylum  was  a  great  grief. 


218  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

I  had  been  unofficially  for  several  years  engaged  in 
its  management  and  was  studying  medicine  to  qualify 
myself  to  be  my  father's  partner  and  successor.  I 
had  been  brought  up  among  the  insane  and  was  fond 
of  them  and  had  acquired  that  tact  which  is  so  es- 
sential to  their  management. 

Dr.  Roy  and  after  Dr.  Landry's  death,  his  son, 
though  not  a  physician,  carried  on  the  contract  till 
1893,  when  the  property  and  the  contract  were  trans- 
ferred to  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  Thus  the  insane 
returned  to  the  care  of  a  religious  order  after  the 
lapse  of  more  than  half  a  century.  During  that  half 
century  the  treatment  of  mental  diseases  had  kept 
pace  with  the  progress  of  medicine  and  surgery,  and 
none  were  better  qualified  than  the  good  sisters  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  humanitarian  method  which 
had  displaced  the  older  barbarous  practices.* 

For  some  years  before  my  father's  involuntary  re- 
tirement from  the  Asylum  the  contract  had  been 
profitable.  The  increase  in  the  number  of  patients 
had  coincided  with  the  great  drop  in  the  price  of  all 
provisions  due  to  the  War  of  Secession  and  the  high 


*The  Daily  Telegraph  of  April  8,  1893,  in  its  account  of  the 
negotiations  between  the  Sisters  of  Charity  and  the  Pro- 
prietors put  the  price  paid  for  the  Asylum  at  $425,000,  a  sum 
greatly  in  excess  of  what  Mr.  Cauchon  and  Dr.  Landry  paid 
for  it,  though  in  the  interval  they  had  not  erected  any  large 
additions.  The  Telegraph  gives  the  contract  price  per  head 
as  only  $100  per  annum.  The  Government  appoints  the  med- 
ical staff  and  the  medical  treatment  is  taken  out  of  the 
control  of  the  contractors,  who  have  merely  to  feed,  clothe 
and  lodge  the  inmates. 


CARE  OF  THE  INSANE  219 

price  of  gold.  If  I  recollect  aright,  our  calculations 
had  been  based  on  flour  at  $7.00,  and  it  dropped  to 
$4.00,  and  of  pork  at  $20.00  or  $21.00,  and  it  dropped 
to  $7.00  or  $8,00  a  barrel.  But  except  during  that 
limited  period  of  time,  the  profits  were  not  com- 
mensurate to  the  risk  and  the  labor. 

This  whole  story  of  the  buying  and  selling  of  a 
sacred  public  trust,  and  the  calculation  of  profits 
from  the  treatment  of  the  most  helpless  of  all  af- 
flicted creatures,  is  in  itself  an  unanswerable  argu- 
ment against  farming  out  the  insane. 

In  their  report  for  1873  the  Proprietors  discuss  in 
great  detail  the  economy  of  the  farming  out  system 
as  compared  with  that  of  State  control.  They  say: 
"In  virtue  of  a  contract  between  the  Provincial  Gov- 
ernment and  the  Proprietors  of  the  Asylum  of  Que- 
bec, the  insane  are  treated  in  this  establishment." 
"Under  the  arrangement  the  Government  engages  to 
supply  650  patients  to  the  asylum,  and  in  case  more 
than  that  number  have  to  be  provided  for,  up  to  any 
reasonable  number,  they  must  be  received  at  a  lower 
price. ' ' 

"The  Asylum  contains  at  present  nearly  800  pa- 
tients, for  each  of  which  the  Government  pays  $143.00 
per  year.  Under  the  new  contract  there  will  be 
only  650  patients  for  which  the  Government  will  pay 
$143.00;  the  surplus  will  cost  the  Government  only 
$132.00  per  head." 

The  proprietors  then  proceed  to  compare  the  price 
paid  by  the  Quebec  Government  with  the  cost  of 
maintenance  per  patient  in  the  United  States  and 
Europe.     They  arrived  at  the  following  figures: 


220  MY  FATHER'S  JOUENAL 

England      —     —     $122.20  per  year  per  patient, 

France         —     -     $136.58     "       "       "  " 

United  States     —     $257.40 

Canada— Toronto  Asylum                   —  $131.75 

London         "                         —  129.24 

Rockwood     "                         —  143.00 

St.  Johns,  New  Brunswick  —  111.76 

Halifax,  Nova  Scotia            —  186.64 

St.  John,  Quebec                  —  265.85 

Quebec                         —         —  108.00 

The  figure  named,  $108.00,  does  not  correspond 
with  the  old  contract  price,  nor  with  what  is  under- 
stood to  be  the  contract  price  of  today,  $116.00.  If 
it  represents  the  actual  cost  to  the  contractors,  it 
shows  too  small  a  margin  on  a  contract  price  of 
$116.00,  and  too  large  a  margin  on  a  contract  of 
$132.00.  In  comparing  prices  the  fact  must  be  taken 
into  consideration  that  the  contractors  have  to  provide 
buildings,  which  are  not  included  in  the  maintenance 
cost  of  institutions  supported  by  Government. 

The  table  however  illustrates  the  weakness  of  the 
contract  system  from  any  other  point  of  view  than 
economy.  If  the  insane  are  farmed  out,  every  econ- 
omy has  to  be  exercised  by  the  contractor,  and  he 
has  to  calculate  how  cheaply  he  can  support  his  es- 
tablishment in  order  to  make  as  much  money  as  he 
conscientiously  can,  instead  of  considering  what  im- 
provements in  construction  or  internal  economy  he 
can  introduce  which  would  add  to  the  comfort  or  the 
sanitary  wellbeing  of  his  patients.  That  the  Quebec 
Lunatic  Asylum  is  run  at  less  cost  than  any  other 
is  a  damaging  admission,   even  admitting  that  the 


CARE  OF  THE  INSANE  221 

standard  of  living  of  the  French  Canadian  habitant 
is  not  high.  It  means  that  either  there  is  unneces- 
sary extravagance  everywhere  else,  or  unjustifiable 
economy  at  Beauport.  The  other  insane  asylums  in 
the  Province  of  Quebec  receive  the  same  allowance 
per  patient  as  the  Beauport  Asylum,  but  the  Yerdun 
Protestant  Asylum  is  under  a  board  of  managers, 
and  no  profit  is  made  out  of  the  care  of  the  inmates. 
In  the  case  of  this  Protestant  Asylum,  public  sub- 
scriptions supplement  the  Government  grant  to  an 
amount  which  enables  the  management  to  expend  on 
the  patients  an  amount  approaching  $200.00  per  head. 
The  more  the  Government  beats  down  the  contractor, 
the  more  he  is  compelled  to  meet  the  cut  by  econo- 
mies which  must  be  made  out  of  the  wellbeing  of 
the  patients;  and  if  additional  buildings  have  to  be 
erected,  they  must  almost  inevitably  be  planned  and 
constructed  with  the  view  to  cheapness  rather  than 
the  highest  hygienic  principles  and  perfect  safety 
from  fire.  Dr.  Tuke  in  1884  visited  the  Asylums  of 
Ontario  and  Quebec.  The  State  conducted  Asylum 
of  Ontario  received  his  commendatory  notice;  the 
Asylums  at  Longue  Pointe  and  Beauport  he  consid- 
ered a  disgrace.  He  ends  his  criticism  as  follows: 
"The  Proprietors  only  receive  $11.00  per  head  per 
month  for  maintenance  and  clothing.*  The  system 
involves  the  probability  of  their  being  sacrificed  to 
the  interests  of  the  Proprietors.  It  has  the  disas- 
trous tendency  to  keep  the  dietary  as  low  as  possible, 
to  lead  to  a  deficiency  in  the  supply  of  clothing  and 


*The  amount  now  paid  is  only  $9.66. 


222  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

to  a  minimum  of  attendants,  thus  inducing  a  want 
of  proper  attention  to  the  patients  and  an  excessive 
resort  to  mechanical  restraints,  instead  of  the  indi- 
vidual personal  care  which  is  so  needful  for  their 
happiness  and  the  promotion  of  their  recovery.  I 
consider  that  the  number  of  attendants  in  such  an 
asylum  should  not  be  less  than  one  to  seven  instead 
of  one  to  fifteen;  and  that  a  higher  class  should  be 
obtained  by  giving  higher  wages." 

In  1887  a  Royal  Commission  was  appointed  to  in- 
vestigate the  lunatic  asylums  of  the  Province.  It 
reported  in  the  following  year.  The  following  ex- 
tract is  made  from  the  Morning  Chronicle's  con- 
densation of  the  Report: 

The  Woman's  Hospital  was  inspected  by  the  Commission- 
ers, and  they,  it  must  be  confessed,  found  much  to  criticise. 
"In  the  infirmary  there  were  many  defects  to  notice.  The 
light  and  ventilation  were  found  to  be  defective,  and  even 
patients  suffering  merely  from  temporary  illness  remain  in 
the  infirmary  all  the  time.  All  the  wards,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Nos.  12  and  14,  which  are  simply  deplorable,  are 
fairly  well  kept.  Wards  12  and  14  are  in  the  top  story, 
and  the  roof  may  be  touched  with  the  hand.  The  patients 
are  simply  in  pens.  The  dormitories  reserved  for  the  better 
class  of  patients  are  in  a  satisfactory  condition  and  are  kept 
clean.  The  mattresses  are  made  of  straw.  Putting  it 
mildly,  the  Commissioners  say  that  much  is  left  to  be  wished 
for  in  the  cells,  especially  in  those  of  the  uncleanly  patients. 
The  bedsteads  are  of  wood  or  iron.  Many  of  the  dormitories 
are  overcrowded,  and  there  is  not  sufficient  space  in  them 
to  ensure  the  comfort  of  the  patients.  The  baths  and  privies 
are  badly  kept  and  in  general  are  dirty.  The  patients  are 
permitted  to  stay  in  them  an  unnecessarily  long  time.  Thd 
ordinary  refectories  are  large,  airy  and  well  lighted.  The 
patients    are    allowed    spoons    only    at    their    meals,    and    of 


CARE  OF  THE  INSANE  223 

course,  many  of  them  eat  with  their  fingers.  The  patients 
are  hurried  too  much  at  their  meals,  and  complaints  are  in- 
dicated of  the  inattention  of  keepers.  The  food  supplied 
seems  to  be  atrocious.  It  is  indifferent  in  quality,  lacking  in 
quantity  and  not  sufficiently  varied.  A  decided  improve- 
ment in  the  food  supplied  to  the  unfortunate  inmates  is 
urgently  demanded.  Though  the  clothing  of  the  female  pa- 
tients is  pretty  good  as  a  rule,  the  Commissioners  found  that 
in  certain  wards,  there  was  much  to  be  desired  in  this  re- 
spect. The  cells  are  too  numerous,  and  are  back  to  back. 
They  have  no  windows.  Light  only  comes  in  from  the  cor- 
ridors by  small  openings  made  in  the  doors  or  from  above. 
Again  complaint  is  made  of  the  insufficiency  of  light  and 
ventilation.  All  the  wards  are  overcrowded,  and  the  cur- 
able and  incurable  patients,  are  mixed  up  together,  with  the 
patients  suffering  from  chronic  mania,  and  those  affected 
with  dementia  and  other  similar  diseases.  This  system,  the 
Commissioners  rightly  condemn  as  serious  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  curing  those  susceptible  of  cure.  During  their  visit, 
the  Commissioners  saw  many  patients  under  means  of  re- 
straint, and  this  restraint  appeared  to  be  in  excessive  use. 
Probably  on  this  point  the  keepers  could  be  interrogated  with 
advantage.  On  visiting  the  men's  hospital  at  the  Beauport 
Asylum,  the  Commissioners  found  matters  very  much  as  they 
found  them  in  the  female  department.  Bad  ventilation,  im- 
perfect light,  filth,  infectious  smells,  absolutely  bad  hygienic 
condition  of  the  rooms,  poor  food,  scanty  appliances,  over- 
crowding of  the  cells,  dirty  and  ill-clothed  patients,  &c, 
proved  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception.  As  a  rule  the 
keepers  can  neither  read  nor  write.  They  are  not  properly 
dressed,  and  the  pay  they  receive  is  inadequate.  The 
night  service  is  bad  and  inadequate.  Many  of  the  pa- 
tients have  no  winter  clothing,  and  this  compels  the 
keepers  to  force  them  to  remain  indoors  durings  the  cold 
weather.  Many  of  the  patients  never  go  out  at  all,  solely 
because  they  have  no  clothes  to  wear.  In  summer,  the  pa- 
tients go  out  in  an  enclosed  courtyard  every  day.  The  court- 
yard for  the  men,  however,  is  unsuitable,  because,  after  a 
rain  storm,  it  takes  two  days  before  it  gets  dry  enough  for 


224  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

the  patients  to  use  it.  There  are  too  few  keepers  to  look 
after  all  the  patients.  Though  registration  of  all  cases  of 
restraint  is  supposed  to  be  kept,  the  Commissioners  have  rea- 
son to  believe  that  the  registers  are  not  regularly  kept. 
The  cubic  space  allowed  each  patient  in  the  dormitories  and 
cells  is  below  the  average."  This  fearful  exhibit  of  the  way 
things  are  managed  at  the  Beauport  Asylum,  will  awaken 
in  the  breasts  of  all  men  and  women,  feelings  of  the  greatest 
indignation.  We  will  return  to  this  report  again.  In  the 
meantime,  there  is  food  for  reflection  in  what  we  publish 
to-day. 

Presumably  many  of  these  shortcomings  complained 
of  have  been  remedied.  But  the  buildings  would 
have  to  be  rebuilt  to  bring  them  up  to  the  level  of 
modern  requirements.  And  no  matter  what  the  con- 
ditions are  today,  the  defects  mentioned  are  inci- 
dental to  the  vicious  system  of  farming  out,  and 
will  continue  in  a  more  or  less  aggravated  degree  as 
long  as  the  system  continues  to  be  adopted. 

No  stronger  argument  against  the  farming  out 
system  could  be  used  than  the  plea  of  Sister  M.  du 
Redempteur,  Superioress  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity, 
who  own  the  Longue  Pointe  Asylum.  She  says  in 
the  Report  for  1907  to  the  Inspectors  of  Prisons  and 
Insane  Asylums  of  the  Province  of  Quebec: 

Sirs, 

The  year  1907  has  made  us  feel,  yet  more  than  in  previous 
years,  the  insufficiency  of  the  indemnity  we  receive  from  the 
government. 

All  things  necessary  to  life  have  attained  prices  almost 
prohibitive  for  us.  We  had  to  retrench  on  all  sides  in  spite 
of  our  wish  to  do  otherwise.  We  had  even  to  discontinue  the 
regular  use  of  the  electric  tramway,  connecting  our  main 
establishment  with  the  village  of  Longue   Pointe,  near  which 


CARE  OF  THE  INSANE  225 

is  Ste  Th6rese  residence  and  dependencies,  St.  Isidore  Resi- 
dence and  the  wharves. 

The  need  of  enlarging  is  more  and  more  felt.  We  have 
now  temporary  chapels  which  occupy  space  that  might  be 
devoted  to  the  patients. 

For  that,  we  would  have  to  build;  but  the  enormous  debt 
weighing  on  our  shoulders  prevents  us.  Not  a  cent  have  we 
been  able  to  pay  yet  on  the  million  dollars  borrowed  for  the 
construction  of  our  present  building. 

We  are  asked  to  follow  the  progresses  made  in  the  care  of 
the  insane  even  to  anticipate  them.  Nothing  pleases  us  more 
than  to  improve  and  improve  constantly;  but  we  must  have 
the  means  and  that  is  what  we  lack.  We  have  a  petition  be- 
fore the  government  setting  forth  these  things  and  we  are 
trusting  always  that  this  petition  will  have  the  effect.  In 
the  meantime  we  suffer. 

The  Government  seems  to  flatter  itself  that  the 
cost  of  board  per  head  per  annum  is  only  $112.00. 
It  should  be  ashamed  of  admitting  that  its  unfor- 
tunate insane  are  supported  and  treated  at  such  an 
insufficient  sum,  and  that  as  a  consequence  the  di- 
rectors of  asylums  have  to  admit  that  they  cannot 
" follow  the  progresses  made  in  the  care  of  the  in- 
sane" by  reason  that  they  "must  have  the  means, 
and  that  is  what  they  lack."  The  Sisters  of  Charity 
may  be  the  most  efficient  managers  of  insane  asy- 
lums, but  the  hospital  should  be  supported  by  Gov- 
ernment, and  kept  up  to  the  standard  of  the  highest 
therapeutic  efficiency.  Under  the  present  contract 
system,  whose  highest  recommendation  is  that  the 
cost  to  the  Province  per  head  is  less  than  is  expended 
on  the  insane  by  any  other  civilized  community  in 
the  world,  the  only  conclusion  to  be  drawn  is  that 
either  the  contractors  or  the  patients  are  being 
starved.    Which  is  it?    Perhaps  both !! ! 


CHAPTER  IX 

MY  FATHER'S  FRIENDS— SANE   AND   INSANE 

My  father  had  friends  among  the  Roman  Catholic 
clergy.  He  fully  appreciated  their  heroism,  as  only 
those  can,  who,  like  him,  see  their  devotion  to  duty, 
especially  in  seasons  of  pestilence.  "When  the  typhus 
fever  epidemic,  which  followed  the  Irish  famine, 
filled  the  Marine  Hospital,  and  its  temporary  sheds 
to  overflowing,  with  dying  emigrants  and  seamen,  he 
could  not  but  admire  the  spirit  of  martyrdom,  which 
nerved  the  priest  to  breathe  the  very  breath  of 
death,  when  receiving  the  last  confession,  before  ad- 
ministering extreme  unction.  But  he  did  disapprove 
of  and  reprobate  in  most  unambiguous  terms  the 
endeavors  made  by  the  same  priests  to  gather  into  the 
fold,  at  the  last  moment,  when  consciousness,  or  at 
least  volition,  had  departed,  Protestants  who  would 
have  died  rather  than  wittingly  renounce  their  faith. 
Enveigling  moribund  Protestants  into  the  Church 
was  after  all  as  much  an  act  of  duty,  on  the  part  of 
the  priests,  and,  considering  the  risk  they  ran,  equally 
heroic,  as  the  much  vaunted  courage  of  the  renowned 
Jesuit  Fathers  Joques  and  Goupil  in  jeopardizing 
their  lives  to  save  the  souls  of  Iroquois  babies.    But 


228  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

though  the  act  of  the  Quebec  priests,  committed 
within  the  stone  walls  of  the  Hospital,  may  not  have 
differed  in  kind  from  that  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries, 
when  they  watched  their  opportunity  to  baptize  un- 
observed the  Mohawk  babies,  my  father's  views  of 
fair  play  made  him  oppose  the  one  even  though  he 
may  have  regarded  with  admiration  the  other.  He 
of  course  believed  that  the  priests'  performance  was 
supremely  innocuous  to  the  individual  operated  on; 
but  he  had  witnessed  once  the  horror  with  which  a 
Scotch  Presbyterian,  on  wakening  to  the  last  short 
glimpse  of  conscious  life,  which  is  sometimes  vouch- 
safed to  the  dying,  learnt  that  he  had  become  a 
Roman.  And  he  knew  how  harrowing  it  was  to  the 
feelings  of  survivors  to  hear  that  their  lost  ones  had 
forsaken  the  faith  of  their  fathers. 

The  priest  above  all  others  whom  he  most  en- 
joyed was  Father  MacMahon  of  St.  Patrick's  Church, 
probably  because  they  both  possessed  to  a  high  de- 
gree the  faculty  of  telling  and  appreciating  a  good 
story.  Father  MacMahon  was  one  of  the  Lever  type 
of  Irish  priests,  who  ruled  the  boisterous  elements 
of  his  congregation  with  blows,  when  words  could  no 
longer  be  heard.  He  was  a  great  favorite  with  the 
men  to  whom  his  skill  in  handling  the  stick  and  his 
ready  wit  endeared  him ;  while  the  women  worshipped 
him  for  his  great  charity,  his  kindly  interest  in 
everyone's  joys  and  sorrows,  and  his  homely  elo- 
quence. He  always  spoke  to  the  point,  but  of  course 
reserved  his  greatest  oratorical  efforts  for  St.  Pat- 
rick's Day,  when  he  preached  a  political  sermon,  full 
of  allusions,   that  stirred  the   susceptible  hearts  of 


MY  FATHER'S  FRIENDS  229 

his  countrymen  and  drew  a  throng  of  the  hated 
Saxons,  all  his  good  friends,  who  came  to  hear  their 
villainous  deeds  described  in  such  harsh  warm 
terms  by  the  warmhearted  priest.  "We  had  a  cook, 
"Old  Norah."  She  was  always  "Old  Norah,"  for 
she  never  knew  her  own  age.  She  was  ' '  Old  Norah ' ' 
when  she  came  to  us  in  1842,  and  was  "Old  Norah" 
when  we  left  her  in  Canada  in  1875.  She  mourned 
for  Father  MacMahon  when  he  died,  with  a  pathetic 
grief.  She  held  any  priest,  even  a  French  priest,  in 
reverence,  but  her  devotion  to  Father  MacMahon  was 
as  far  removed  from  mere  superstitious  reverence  as 
from  that  sickly  sentimentality  with  which  Protes- 
tants sometimes  regard  a  popular  divine.  It  was  a 
tender  personal  attachment,  etherialized  by  the  vener- 
ation in  which  she  held  him  for  his  spiritual  office, 
and  his  supposed  exaltation,  by  reason  of  that  office, 
above  the  weaknesses  of  humanity.  In  course  of 
time  the  French  Archbishop  saw  fit,  perhaps  wisely, 
to  place  St.  Patrick's  congregation  under  the  Re- 
demptorist  Fathers.  The  St.  Patrick's  parsonage 
under  their  austere  rule  was  no  longer  the  house  of 
genial  hearty  welcome  it  had  been  under  Father 
MacMahon  and  his  successor;  and  its  kitchen  ceased 
to  be  the  place  of  adjournment  for  as  many  of  the 
congregation  as  could  crowd  into  it  from  the  church 
after  mass.  Old  Norah  reverenced  the  monks,  but 
she  never  loved  them  like  her  old  Father.  By  their 
strict  discipline  and  temperance  the  Redemptorists 
did  good  work,  but  by  methods  less  tangible  than 
those  of  the  jovial  yet  irrascible  parish  priest. 

"Father  MacMahon 's  postscript"  is  to  this  day  a 


230  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

well  -understood  argument.  One  of  his  parishioners 
went  to  him  with  a  grievance  which  the  good  father 
was  not  inclined  to  admit.  Failing  to  persuade  him, 
the  angry  man  threatened  to  resort  to  the  Bishop, 
and  if  the  Bishop  would  not  right  his  wrongs,  to 
appeal  to  the  Pope.  Father  MacMahon  listened  to 
the  tirade,  which  was  fanned  into  violence  by  the 
priest's  apparently  cool  indifference.  When  it  had 
exhausted  itself,  he  led  the  angry  member  of  his 
flock,  which  never  contained  many  lambs,  to  the  door, 
kicked  him  with  one  bound  into  the  street  and  bade 
him  put  that  into  the  postscript  of  his  letter  to  the 
Pope. 

Another  figure  of  those  long  gone  by  days  pre- 
sents itself,  whom  my  father  held  in  highest  esteem. 
It  was  Bishop  Mountain  of  the  Church  of  England.  He 
was  in  person  like  a  geometrical  line — length  without 
breadth,  and  his  lean  figure,  its  leanness  exaggerated 
by  his  ecclesiastical  costume,  swayed  and  waved,  as 
he  walked,  like  a  willow  sapling  in  the  breeze.  His 
life  in  its  simple  piety,  and  extended  labors,  recalled 
that  of  such  medieval  missionaries  as  St.  Boniface. 
His  diocese  covered  the  whole  American  Continent, 
north  of  the  United  States  Boundary.  Few  if  any 
even  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Agents  have  traveled  by 
canoe  a  greater  number  of  miles  than  he  on  his 
episcopal  visitations  to  the  wilds  of  the  North  "West. 

The  Cathedral  in  those  good  old  times  was  presided 
over  by  Dr.  Mackie,  the  very  beau  ideal,  in  com- 
fortable corpulence,  dignity  of  bearing,  and  general 
culture,  of  an  English  Rector  before  Pusyism  en- 
tered between  the  old  order  of  things  and  the  new. 


MY  FATHER'S  FRIENDS  231 

He  also  has  gone  to  his  rest.  But  as  important  a 
personage  in  the  Cathedral  as  the  Bishop  or  the  Rec- 
tor, was  the  organist,  dear  old  Mr.  Codman.  He  was 
built  up  of  nerves.  He  might  have  served  for  Ho- 
garth's enraged  musician.  I  have  been  with  him 
in  the  organ  loft  when  his  exertions  at  the  foot 
pedals  shook  down  the  railings  and  curtains  about 
our  ears.  This  added  anger  to  ecstasy,  and  in 
the  fury  that  followed  he  wrecked  the  loft,  and  dam- 
aged the  organ,  till  pedal  after  pedal  and  key  after 
key  refused  to  respond  to  his  kicks  and  his  blows. 
I  was  dismayed  but  the  charity  children  safe  in  the 
gallery  above  us,  enjoyed  the  fun.  He  was  beard- 
less, almost  hairless,  the  veins  coursing  red  across 
his  cheeks.  When  angry  he  stamped,  and  strode 
among  his  pupils  and  the  dumb  pianos,  storming  at  his 
pupils,  and  threatening  corporal  violence.  When 
pleased  his  delight  was  almost  as  unbounded,  and 
his  sheer  artistic  frenzy  so  carried  him  away  that 
once  he  kissed  before  his  class  a  pretty  pupil.  When 
he  laughed  every  limb  and  muscle  joined  in  the  mer- 
riment, and  a  joke  always  turned  the  tide  of  his 
anger  into  laughter;  I  am  ashamed  to  say  that  we 
went  to  class  prepared  to  take  advantage  of  this 
weakness.  Whenever  we  anticipated  a  storm  of  our 
own  raising,  we  could  always  calm  the  tempest  by 
recalling  a  ton-mot  of  my  father,  who  passing  him 
once  when  working  in  his  garden,  commended  him 
for  enjoying  his  " otium  cum  digging  potaties."  He 
died  in  1851,  suddenly,  without  any  symptom  of 
disease,  glad  to  escape  what  he  dreaded  more  than 
death,  lunacy.     He  knew  that  he  stood  on  that  un- 


232  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

defined  line,  between  sanity  and  insanity,  a  line  no 
alienist  has  been  able  to  draw. 

One  conspicuous  figure  remains  of  my  father's  old 
friends,  and  he  was  his  closest  and  truest  for  more 
than  half  a  century.  He  was  the  only  man  my  father 
looked  to  for  advice  and  his  advice  was  often  fol- 
lowed.   I  refer  of  course  to  Dr.  Cook  of  St.  Andrews. 

From  the  date  of  his  retirement  from  general 
practice  in  1851  till  1866,  when  he  sold  the  Asylum, 
its  management  and  extension  claimed  most  of  his 
time  and  thought. 

There  never  was  a  medical  superintendent  more 
beloved  by  his  patients  than  was  he.  They  called 
him  in  all  sincerity  their  father.  "When  he  went 
through  the  wards  they  clustered  round  him  like 
children.  He  had  a  kind  word  for  all.  He  pos- 
sessed that  rare  tact,  so  essential  to  all  who  would 
control  the  insane,  of  throwing  them  off  the  scent 
of  their  false  fancies,  without  contradicting  and  ir- 
ritating them.  However  irritable  he  himself  might 
be  with  people  accounted  sane,  he  never  lost  his  tem- 
per with  those  admittedly  insane.  In  his  medical 
treatment  he  put  little  faith  in  drugs  as  specifically 
curative  agents  in  mental  disease.  His  reliance  was 
on  the  vis  medicatrix  naturae.  Strengthened  by  his 
surgical  experience  of  her  marvelous  regenerative 
powers  in  repairing  injured  organs,  he  was  perhaps 
too  skeptical  as  to  the  efficacies  of  drugs  in  restoring 
disturbed  functions.  Whether  rightly  or  wrongly, 
he  was  opposed  to  their  administration  when  intended 
to  act  directly  on  the  nervous  system.     He  confined 


MY  FATHER'S  FRIENDS  233 

his  treatment  to  maintaining  his  patients  in  as  per- 
fect a  state  of  health  as  possible,  and  directing  their 
thoughts  from  their  diseased  channels  by  work  and 
amusements.  The  Thursday  evening  ball  began  with 
the  opening  of  the  Asylum,  and  he  never  failed  to 
attend  it  himself.  The  ball  was  supplemented  latterly 
by  an  additional  weekly  entertainment,  consisting  of 
a  concert,  a  magic  lantern  exhibition  or  of  theatricals, 
in  which  some  of  the  patients  took  part. 

And  like  all  who  have  had  to  do  with  those  help- 
less, overgrown  children  of  God's  afflicted  family, 
he  was  not  only  keenly  interested  in  their  treatment, 
but  deeply  attached  to  many  of  them.  The  insane 
often  reciprocate  ardently  kindness  and  sympathy; 
and  by  a  peculiar  perversion  of  instinct,  transfer  to 
the  guardian,  intrusted  with  their  care,  the  affections 
which  they  lose  for  those  whom  they  once  loved,  and 
who  by  family  ties  should  claim  their  attachment. 

But  of  course,  as  among  the  men  and  women  who 
are  by  general  consent  assigned  a  place  on  the  ra- 
tional side  of  that  ambiguous  boundary,  which  divides 
society  into  sane  and  insane,  most  are  uninterest- 
ing and  commonplace,  so,  among  the  inmates  of  an 
asylum,  those  who  display  marked  characteristics  are 
in  the  great  minority.  On  the  other  hand  not  a  few, 
especially  of  the  gentler  sex,  who  are  subject  to  attacks 
of  periodical  mania,  rise  during  the  paroxysm  to  a 
plane  of  intellectual  brilliancy,  as  well  as  magnificent 
facial  expressiveness,  which  transforms  them  into  more 
exalted  beings  than  when  in  their  normal  condition. 
They  do  not  quite  forget  the  ecstasy,  when  restored  to 
placidity.     They  even  seem  sometimes  to  remember 


234  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

it  with  regret.  One  is  reminded  by  these  cases  of 
the  temporary  elevation  to  which  passion  raises  or- 
dinary folk,  who  are  not  inmates  of  an  asylum. 

But  while  commonplace  is  the  rule,  the  eccen- 
tricity of  thought  among  the  clever  insane  is  often 
startling.  One  of  our  patients  had  been  a  preacher, 
though  not  of  any  recognized  denomination,  and  he 
called  himself  the  Prophet  of  the  North.  He  had 
in  his  satchel  a  number  of  newspaper  clippings,  de- 
scribing his  adventures.  He  had  girt  himself  with  a 
sword  to  typify  the  Sword  of  the  Spirit,  and  this 
had  gotten  him  occasionally  into  trouble,  though  it 
was  a  very  rusty,  harmless  implement.  Then  he 
had  more  than  once  accepted  the  call  to  discuss  cer- 
tain religious  subjects,  at  public  assemblies,  and  had 
actually  in  his  innocence  taken  the  invitations  lit- 
erally ;  and  been  roughly  handled,  because  he  insisted 
on  propounding  his  views— all  of  which  departures 
from  conventional  usages  had  landed  him  in  Ward 
No.  1.  He  did  not  resent  the  confinement,  but  ac- 
cepted it  as  philosophically  as  another  of  his  fellow 
patients,  who,  believing  in  the  rule  of  the  majority, 
recognized  that  the  world  thought  one  way  and  he 
another,  and  that  numbers  being  decidedly  against 
him,  the  world  very  properly  used  its  power  to  put 
him,  where  he  could  not,  by  any  possibility,  put  the 
world.  The  Prophet  had  in  his  face  all  the  shrewd- 
ness of  a  Yankee,  accentuated  by  the  animation  of 
a  fanatic;  and  his  sayings  were  sometimes  clever. 
Discussing  the  history  of  Abraham,  he  insisted  that 
circumstances  altered  cases;  for  Abraham  once,  con- 
sidering himself  under  a  divine  command  to  com- 


MY  FATHEB'S  FEIENDS  235 

mit  murder,  was  about  to  kill  his  son  when  his  hand 
was  stayed.  The  act  was  accounted  to  him  for  right- 
eousness; but  if  he  had  lived  in  these  days,  what 
would  have  happened?  Sarah  would  have  sworn 
out  a  warrant,  would  have  had  him  adjudged  insane 
and  incarcerated  him  in  an  asylum.  The  intention 
would  have  been  accounted  anything  but  righteousness. 
The  comment  was  made  in  no  irreverent  spirit,  and  it 
conveyed  a  truth.  Again  animadverting  on  the  am- 
biguity of  philosophical  and  theological  language,  I 
recollect  his  saying  that  people  talked  of  latent  truth 
in  the  Bible  and  physicists  talked  of  latent  heat  in 
a  snowball — but  how  many  snowballs  would  it  take 
to  heat  an  oven? 

Another  patient,  whose  great  burly  figure  and 
good-natured,  smiling  face  made  him  a  conspicuous 
personality  in  our  little  community,  worked  in  the 
blacksmith  shop.  He  was  one  of  that  large  class  of 
incapables  who  are  neither  feeble  in  mind  nor  in 
body,  and  yet  lack  the  initiative  which  enables  them 
to  care  for  themselves  in  this  busy,  pushing  world. 
There  are  many  of  them  out  of,  who  would  be  hap- 
pier and  cost  the  world  less  were  they  in,  an  asylum. 
Poor  Curry  one  luckless  day  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  Commissioners,  who  considered  that  if  he  were 
able  to  do  good  blacksmithing  for  the  institution  he 
could  support  himself  by  his  trade,  and  so  he  was 
discharged.  Ere  long  the  medical  superintendent 
of  the  asylum  was  called  upon  to  sit  on  a  lunacy 
case.  Curry  had  enlisted  in  the  army,  and  was 
found  so  irresponsible  to  military  rule  that  the  army 
officers  came  to  the  correct  conclusion  that  the  refrac- 


236  MY  FATHER 'S  JOURNAL 

tory  recruit  was  insane.  So  he  returned,  jubilant  as 
a  school-boy  released  for  his  vacation,  to  the  asylum. 
Some  time  afterwards  he  disappeared ;  no  traee  could 
be  found  of  him;  but  after  the  lapse  of  about  three 
weeks  he  reappeared,  very  thin  and  very  tired  and 
very  hungry,  but  very  happy.  He  had  had  a  dream 
that  there  was  a  certain  old  lady  in  New  England 
who  could  tell  him  something  greatly  to  his  advan- 
tage. So  off  he  tramped  on  foot  some  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  into  New  England.  Fairly  arrived, 
he  met  on  the  public  road  the  very  old  lady  who 
had  appeared  to  him  in  his  dream.  He  told  her 
who  he  was  and  of  his  visions.  She  listened,  pon- 
dered, gave  him  a  good  dinner  and  advised  him  to 
return  by  the  way  he  had  come.  I  would  have  made 
a  pilgrimage  myself  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
afoot  to  have  met  such  a  dear,  wise  old  lady !  Curry's 
delusions  by  day  or  by  night  never  again  tempted 
him  away  from  his  refuge. 

Criminal  lunacy  has  always  been  and  always  will 
be  a  perplexing  branch  of  the  science.  There  are 
cases  which  common  sense  can  easily  settle— others 
which  no  sense  can  satisfactorily  solve.  There  was 
a  girl  in  the  asylum,  a  quiet,  very  intelligent,  mod- 
est creature,  committed  for  drowning  her  sister's 
child  in  a  well.  She  had  lived  till  womanhood  in 
the  world;  seen  the  temptations  which  beset  her  sex; 
witnessed  the  baptism  of  her  sister's  child;  believed 
it,  by  falsely  interpreting  the  teaching  of  her  church, 
to  be  sure  of  translation  at  once  if  sent  to  heaven 
speedily  before  it  committed  actual  sin;  and  there- 
fore she  decided  to  act  as  intermediary  between  the 


MY  FATHER'S  FRIENDS  237 

priest  and  Paradise  by  killing  it  without  delay.  The 
courts  could  entertain  no  doubt  as  to  her  merciful 
motive;  nevertheless,  though  she  reasoned  and  acted 
logically  from  her  own  premises,  she  was  very  prop- 
erly prevented  from  doing  so  again. 

A  more  doubtful  acquittal,  and  yet  perhaps  as 
righteous  a  one,  was  that  of  old  Corrigan.  He  was 
in  a  tavern;  had  drunk,  but  not  to  excess.  He  was 
refused  more  liquor  by  his  friend,  the  saloonkeeper, 
and  without  further  provocation  he  felled  him  with 
an  ax.  At  all  times  subsequently  to  the  murder  he 
denied  the  faintest  recollection  of  the  act,  and  by 
no  examination  or  cross-questioning  could  he  be 
brought  to  commit  himself  to  any  admission  which 
would  imply  memory  of  the  occurrence.  He  was 
turned  over  to  our  care,  and  a  more  harmless,  benevo- 
lent old  man  never  breathed.  His  affections  were  di- 
vided between  flowers  and  children.  He  tended  with 
skill  and  care  the  former  in  the  asylum  windows,  and 
as  the  only  children  on  whom  he  could  expend  his 
more  than  paternal  devotion  were  idiots,  he  devoted 
his  life  to  the  repulsive  task  of  nursing  them  and  re- 
lieving their  wants.  He  knew  why  he  was  in  durance 
and  accepted  the  terrible  inevitableness  of  lifelong 
imprisonment  among  the  insane  without  a  murmur, 
nor  did  he  ever  take  advantage  of  any  opportunity 
of  escape. 

The  great  majority  of  our  patients  belonged  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  which  may  be  one  reason 
why  the  disease  so  seldom  assumed  the  type  of  re- 
ligious mania.  Pure  religion  never  turned  a  human 
mind  from  the  paths  of  sobriety,  but  those  paroxysms 


238  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

of  morbid  excitement,  falsely  called  religious  reviv- 
als, which  are  supposed  to  be  most  successful  and 
grateful  to  the  Deity,  the  greater  the  number  of 
hysterical  people  who  fall  down  in  fits,  do  induce 
insanity.  This  form  of  excitation  is  not  practised 
by  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.*  But  now  and  then 
we  had  patients  who  set  an  example  to  their  saner 
brethren.  There  was  one  staunch  old  Christian,  who, 
scandalized  by  his  fellow-patients  gobbling  down  their 
food  without  asking  a  blessing,  always  stood  in  his 
place  and  said  a  long  grace.  He  as  invariably  paid 
the  penalty  of  his  religion,  for  the  occupants  of  ad- 
jacent seats,  while  he  was  at  his  devotions,  purloined 
some  of  his  dinner. 

I  go  back  every  year  to  see  my  old  friends.  Of 
the  800  only  two  remain,  but  of  the  fate  of  the  de- 
parted I  feel  no  anxiety,  for  the  notions  entertained 
by  peoples  whom  we  count  less  civilized  than  our- 
selves, that  the  insane  are  the  special  objects  of 
God's  kind  providence,  is  assuredly  true. 

The  asylum  is  now  owned  and  under  the  charge 
of  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  One  of  our  old  patients 
was,  when  we  resigned  the  management,  subject  to 
fits  of  periodical  mania,  which  with  advancing  age 
disappeared.  When  I  called  to  see  my  old  friends, 
after  a  parting  of  nearly  twenty  years,  dear  old 
Ellen  Cleary  fell  upon  my  neck  and  kissed  me.  The 
lady  superior  must  have  been  touched,  but  the  rules 
of  her  order  evidently  obliged  her  to  turn  her  back. 


*Among  the  great  mass  of  worshippers,  though  the  ecstasy 
of  its  saints  is  only  another  form  of  this  abnormal  mental 
condition. 


CHAPTER  X 

AS  A  TEMPERANCE  LECTURER 

Though  my  father  held  himself  aloof  from  poli- 
tics, he  took  an  active  part  in  the  temperance  move- 
ment. 

Early  in  his  professional  career  he  was  horrified 
by  the  examples  he  saw  among  his  friends  of  the 
degrading  effects  of  intemperance.  He  was  in  the 
habit  of  taking  a  glass  of  gin  and  water  every  even- 
ing, but,  returning  from  a  case  of  delirium  tremens, 
he  registered  a  silent  vow  to  abstain  from  all  alco- 
holic stimulants.  During  the  typhus  fever  epidemic, 
when  his  digestion  became  seriously  impaired,  he  took 
a  glass  of  wine  for  his  dinner,  but,  barring  this  one 
exception,  he  adhered  rigidly  to  his  self-imposed 
promise  till  after  his  retirement  from  professional 
life.  He  was  one  of  the  most  ardent  advocates  of 
teetotalism  in  Father  Matthew's  day,  and  insisted 
on  laying  down  for  others  strict  temperance  regula- 
tions. 

"During  many  years,"  he  said,  "I  had  charge  of 
the  Surgical  wards  of  the  Marine  and  Emigrants 
Hospital.  For  urgent  reasons  I  had  obtained  the 
passage  of  a  rule  prohibiting  the  use  of  any  intoxi- 


240  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

eating  drink  in  the  Hospital,  except  under  the  writ- 
ten prescription  of  the  visiting  physician.  Instant 
discharge  was  the  penalty  of  its  infraction.  My  reg- 
ular visiting  hour  during  the  week  was  at  10  A.  M., 
and  on  Sunday  at  4  P.  M.  When  however  a  case 
occurred  requiring  particular  attention,  I  visited  it 
at  indifferent  times.  On  one  such  occasion,  on  enter- 
ing my  private  room  for  the  purpose  of  leaving  my 
hat  and  whip,  I  found  the  Steward  and  a  Roman 
Catholic  clergyman  drinking  brandy  and  water.  I 
addressed  the  priest  in  very  plain  terms.  I  dilated 
on  the  fact  that  he,  the  custos  morum  of  the  com- 
munity, gave  by  his  example,  a  sanction  to  a  habit 
which  he  well  knew  had  demoralized  the  Hospital 
and  was  bringing  hundreds  in  the  city  to  misery 
and  to  an  untimely  grave.  He  looked  excessively 
indignant;  he  made  no  reply,  but  snatching  up  his 
hat,  he  hurriedly  left  the  apartment. 

"Some  years  afterwards,  after  having  given  a  lec- 
ture on  temperance  and  an  analysis  of  the  intoxicat- 
ing drinks  in  common  use,  I  was  waited  upon  by  a 
very  intelligent  looking  priest,  who  introduced  him- 
self to  me  as  Mr.  Chiniquy,  the  Cure  of  Beauport. 
He  said  that  he  believed  his  parish  to  be  the  most 
drunken  one  in  lower  Canada,  and  that  I  would  con- 
fer an  obligation  on  him  and  do  good,  by  giving  the 
same  lecture  and  experiments  to  his  people.  He  re- 
marked to  me  that  he  thought  I  had  forgotten  the 
occasion  of  my  first  interview  with  him,  in  the  con- 
sulting room  of  the  Marine  Hospital.  I  was  sur- 
prised and  amused  when  he  told  me  that  he  was  the 
young  priest  to  whom  I  had  given  his  first  lecture  on 


AS  A  TEMPERANCE  LECTURER    241 

total  abstinence.  He  said  that  at  the  moment  he  had 
the  greatest  difficulty  in  restraining  himself  from  a 
reply  to  what  he  considered  an  outrageous  attack  upon 
himself  personally,  and  upon  his  sacred  character 
as  a  priest.  On  going  up  Crown  Street,  however,  he 
said  to  himself,  'The  man  is  disrespectful,  —  he  is 
however  right,  and  I  will  never  taste  intoxicating 
drinks  again.'  He  religiously  kept  his  word  from 
that  moment.  I  am  satisfied  that  Mr.  Chiniquy's  ex- 
ertions in  the  cause  of  temperance  have  been  the 
means  of  saving  a  multitude  of  souls  from  perdition, 
and  some  thousands  of  bodies  from  an  early  grave.  * 
"I  have  had  occasion  to  admire  Mr.  Chiniquy's 
pluck  and  perseverance  in  the  face  of  difficulties  and 
obstacles,  which  to  ordinary  men  would  have  been 
insurmountable.  After  my  lecture  and  experiments 
at  the  Presbytere,  Mr.  Chiniquy  went  to  work  among 
his  parishioners  with  a  will.  He  preached  and  ex- 
horted and  threatened  to  bury  the  bodies  of  the  in- 
temperate in  unconsecrated  ground  among  the  sui- 
cides and  those  dying  in  mortal  sin.  He  did  effect 
great  and  most  salutary  changes.  Among  others,  he 
rendered  travelling  on  the  turnpike  safe  and  pleas- 
ant, which  previously,  from  the  recklessness  of 
drunken  habitants  was  extremely  dangerous.  At  one 
time  I  noticed  people  in  their  carts  passing  along  my 


*  Father  Chiniquy  was  regarded  as  the  Apostle  of  Temper- 
ance in  Lower  Canada,  while  Cure  of  Kannraska  (Kamourasko) 
in  1844  he  published  a  very  persuasive  plea  in  favor  of  tem- 
perance and  the  organization  of  local  Temperance  Societies  — 
under  the  title  of  Manuel  du  Eeglement  de  la  Societe  de 
Temperance. 


242  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

beach  from  the  town.    I  could  not  account  for  their 
doing  so,  as  there  was  no  track  and  sometimes  very 
great  difficulty  and  danger  from  the  overflowing  of 
the  tide.     On  inquiry  I  was  told  that  Mr.  Chiniquy 
had  converted  all  his  parishioners  to  total  abstinence, 
excepting  a  very  few  individuals  who  could  not  re- 
frain, whenever  they  went  to  town.    Finding  all  his 
exhortations,   his  prayers   and  his   supplications   in 
their  behalf  of  no  avail,  he  had  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  they  were  under  the  direct  dominion  of  the 
Devil,  and  that  all  that  could  be  done  for  them  was 
to  pray  for  them.     He  therefore  directed  his  parish- 
ioners, whenever  they  met  one  of  them  on  the  road, 
to    offer  up  a  short  prayer  in  their  behalf.     This 
drove  the  unfortunate  individuals  off  the  road,  and 
was  the  means,  or  was  said  to  be  the  means,  of  their 
ultimate  conversion.     Soon  afterwards  Canada  was 
favored  by  a  visit  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Bishop  of 
Nancy  from  France.    He  was  a  prelate  of  high  rank 
in  the  Church,  a  philosopher,  a  man  of  letters  and  a 
staunch  advocate  of  total  abstinence  principles.    Mr. 
Chiniquy    improved    the    occasion    of    his    visit    to 
Canada  by  inviting  him  to  be  present  at  the  erection 
of  a  monument  in  Beauport  to  commemorate  the  fact 
that    there  was  not  one  individual    in    the    parish 
known  to  use  intoxicating  drinks.     The  monument 
was  inaugurated  with  great  pomp  and  religious  cere- 
monies.    It  is  however  a  curious  psychological  fact 
that  now,  occasionally,  a  habitant,  on  his  return  from 
market,  sees  two  monuments,  instead  of  a  single  one. 
"Some  time  afterwards  Father  Chiniquy  left  Can- 
ade  to  take  the  charge  of  a  French  colony  in  one  of 


AS  A  TEMPERANCE  LECTURER    243 

the  Western  States.  Since  then  his  conduct,  his 
changes  of  opinion  on  religious  matters  and  on  others, 
are  subjects  of  local  history.  I  have  merely  to  state 
that  since  my  first  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Chiniquy  I 
have  never  known  him  to  commit  any  act  or  deed,  or 
utter  anything  inconsistent  with  his  character  as 
a  minister  of  a  Christian  Church,  and  a  sincere 
servant  of  God.  It  is  rather  significant  that  I  never 
heard  of  his  having  committed  any  such  act  or  deed, 
until  after  his  change  of  opinion  on  religious  matters 
and  doctrines. 

"In  recording  these  facts  and  recollections  I  think 
it  is  quite  proper  to  subjoin  my  last  correspondence 
with  Mr.  Chiniquy,  and  to  say  that  it  is  interpo- 
lated in  this  journal  and  notes,  which  were  written 
while  I  was  confined  to  bed,  with  a  broken  leg. 

"Glenalla,  May  1875. 
"My  dear  Sir:— 

' '  Since  my  accident  I  have  filled  up  an  occasional 
hour  in  jotting  down  recollections  of  my  life  and  of 
the  principal  persons  whom  I  have  met,  and  been  in- 
terested in.  A  late  copy  of  the  Witness  has  re- 
minded me  to  send  you  those  of  my  acquaintance 
and  correspondence  with  you.  If  you  have  time  and 
patience  to  read  it,  return  it  to  me,  with  any  notes 
or  corrections  you  may  think  it  necessary  to  make. 
'Tempus  edax  rerum'-,  It  has  eaten  away  my  clear 
and  distinct  memories  of  the  past.  I  will  be  glad 
to  have  them  refreshed  by  you. 

"Yours  very  truly, 

"(Sd)   J.  Douglas. 
"Rev.  C.  Chiniquy." 


244  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

"Montreal,  22nd  May,  1875. 
"Dr.  Douglas: 

"Your  kind  letter,  with  your  memoirs  have  been 
handed  to  me  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Campbell,  only  two 
days  ago,  on  my  return  here  from  Illinois. 

' '  Everything  corresponds  well  with  my  own  memo- 
ries of  that  time,  with  the  exception  that  I  find  in 
my  daily  memorandums  that  you  had  had  the  kind- 
ness to  invite  me  a  good  many  times  to  attend  the 
autopsies  of  dead  bodies  of  men  and  women,  in  the 
brain,  lungs,  nerves,  etc.,  etc.,  of  whom  you  made 
me  observe  the  ravages  of  alkohol  in  the  human 
frame.  You  also  very  kindly  put  into  my  hands 
a  good  number  of  excellent  books,  written  by  the 
most  learned  men  of  England,  France  Germany  and 
America,  which  entirely  upset  my  former  views 
about  the  use  of  wine,  beer,  etc.  I  find  in  these  me- 
moirs that  after  God  it  is  to  you  that  I  owe  the 
principles  and  science  and  light  which  the  good  prov- 
idence of  God  has  allowed  me  to  scatter  and  sow  all 
over  Canada. 

"May  the  great  God  who  has  chosen  you  as  the  in- 
strument of  his  mercies  towards  me  and  my  dear 
countrymen,  keep  you  still  many  years  full  of  life 
and  strength;  and  may  he  pour  upon  you  and  your 
family  most  abundant  blessings  in  time  and  in  eter- 
nity. 

"Believe  me, 

"My  Dear  Mr.  Douglas, 

"Your  forever  grateful  friend, 

"(Sd)  C.  Chiniquy." 


&  S0C//I ' ' 


AS  A  TEMPERANCE  LECTURER    245 

Father  Chiniquy  wrote  my  father  again  in  1880  as 
follows : 

"Ste.  Anne,  Kankakee  Co.,  Illinois 
"Dr.  Douglas,  15th  October,  1880. 

"Very  dear  old  friend — 

"  On  my  arrival  here  I  have  found  your  kind  letter 
of  the  30th,  inviting  me  to  go  to  visit  you  at  Phoe- 
nixville.  Unfortunately  when  it  came  to  Philadel- 
phia I  was  just  gone  to  New  York.  I  am  so  sorry 
that  I  have  missed  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  again. 
For,  my  dear  Mr.  Douglas,  you  do  not  know  how 
you  are  dear  to  me.  After  God  it  is  to  you  that  I 
owe  the  success  of  my  life.  It  is  from  you  that  I 
got  the  first  notion  and  principles  of  that  temper- 
ance, with  the  glorious  and  blessed  banners  of  which 
I  have  marched  in  triumph  from  one  end  to  the  other 
of  Canada.  Never  will  I  forget  the  learned  lessons 
on  the  injuries  done  by  alcohol  in  the  human  frame 
you  gave  me  when  dissecting  some  corpses  of  drunk- 
ards at  the  hospital  of  Marine,  nor  the  admirable  and 
scientific  experiences  you  made,  during  nearly  a 
whole  week,  in  the  parsonage  of  Beauport,  to  show 
to  my  people  that  alcohol  is  a  poison. 

"Nor  will  I  ever  forget  the  tender  care  you  gave 
me  when  very  sick  at  St.  Roche  from  typhoid  fever. 
Nor  the  friendly  rebuke  you  gave  me  when  you  tried 
to  show  me  that  my  cure  was  not  a  miraculous  one. 
You  may  have  forgotten  all  these  things,  if  you  did 
not  put  them  in  your  daily  records,  as  I  have  done. 
But  I  will  never  forget  them— they  are  written  in 
my  memory,  in  my  heart  and  in  my  daily  records  of 
that  time." 


CHAPTER  XI 

CONCLUSION 

In  his  business  transactions  my  father  displayed 
a  strange  mixture  of  distrust  and  credulity.  He  re- 
fused to  invest  his  savings  in  the  ordinary  reposito- 
ries, because  he  had  witnessed  a  few  instances  of 
breach  of  trust;  but  he  unhesitatingly  invested  them 
in  enterprises  of  which  he  understood  absolutely  noth- 
ing, on  the  advice  of  men  whose  experience  and  in- 
telligence did  not  entitle  them  to  be  accepted  as 
safe  guides. 

A  cashier  of  the  Quebec  Branch  of  the  City  Bank 
had  defaulted  when  my  father  first  had  money  to 
invest,  and  this  decided  him  to  distrust  all  banks  and 
bank  cashiers.  In  those  days  the  rents  of  Quebec 
city  property  paid  more  than  the  taxes,  and  he  bought 
houses;  but  as  time  passed  he  remarked  the  declin- 
ing importance  of  the  city  and  disposed  of  them  in 
time.  He  thenceforward  invested  exclusively  in  min- 
ing and  wild  lands.  His  land  speculations,  though 
not  brilliant,  were  fairly  profitable.  He  owned  the 
whole  Township  of  Dorset,  on  the  Chaudiere,  and 
land  around  Black  Lake,  which  is  now  the  scene  of 
active  asbestos  and  chromic  iron  mining.     But  his 


248  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

mining  operations  were  without  exception  disastrous. 
He  prosecuted  them,  nevertheless,  with  the  same  de- 
termined energy  and  fatalistic  reliance  in  his  luck 
which  characterized  all  he  undertook.  As  his  ven- 
tures were  all  badly  made,  they  engulfed  his  whole 
estate  and  left  him  without  property  or  resource  at 
an  age  when  he  could  not  possibly  retrieve  his  for- 
tunes. He  bore  his  reverses,  however,  without  a 
groan,  and,  what  still  more  bespoke  his  manliness, 
without  reflection  on  others.  He  hoped  and  believed 
as  long  as  he  remained  in  Canada,  but  when  his 
hopes  were  finally  shattered  and  his  beliefs  proved 
themselves  groundless,  he  gave  up  his  property,  and, 
what  was  harder  still,  his  reputation  for  shrewdness, 
without  a  murmur.  In  his  later  years  he  bemoaned 
the  gradual  decline  of  his  mental  powers,  but  never 
the  loss  of  his  money. 

He  commenced  his  fatal  experiences  in  mining  by 
searching  for  gold  on  the  Chaudiere.  A  nugget  had 
been  really  discovered  some  years  before.  A  woman 
taking  a  horse  to  water  found  another  nugget  in  one 
of  the  tributaries  of  the  Chaudiere,  in  the  Seigniory 
of  St.  Francis.  This,  coming  to  the  notice  of  Lieut. 
Badderly,  of  the  Royal  Engineers,  in  1834,  he  pub- 
lished a  description  of  it  in  Silliman's  Journal.  But 
gold  mining  did  not  appeal  to  even  the  most  specula- 
tive till  the  California  gold  fever  had  spread  over 
the  world  like  an  epidemic  and  reached  Canada.  In 
1846  Mr.  de  Lery  obtained  a  patent,  giving  him  the 
exclusive  right  to  mine  for  gold  within  the  limits  of 
the  seigniory.  He  sold  his  rights  to  the  Chaudiere 
Mining  Company,  of  which  my  father  was  one  of  the 


CONCLUSION  249 

principal  shareholders,  for  a  royalty,  afterwards  com- 
muted into  a  fixed  sum.  The  company,  under  the 
management  of  a  Mr.  Cunningham,  spent  considerable 
money  and  recovered  some  gold  at  a  considerable 
loss  on  the  Eiver  Gilbert.  My  father,  instead  of 
giving  up  the  enterprise,  bought  out  his  fellow  share- 
holders. He  continued  doing  some  work  spasmodic- 
ally, or  permitting  the  habitants  to  wash  the  gravels 
on  a  royalty,  till  he  sold  his  rights,  in  1863,  for 
$4,000.  No  remunerative  systematic  mining  was 
ever  done,  nor  were  the  placer  deposits  large  enough 
to  warrant  a  large  outlay  for  their  economical  treat- 
ment. But  the  gravel  in  the  beds  of  the  two  streams, 
the  La  Plante  and  the  Tuf  de  Pin,  or  Gilbert,  were  in 
places,  where  the  rock  ledges  dammed  the  streams, 
extraordinarily  rich.  I  once  received,  as  a  25  per 
cent,  royalty,  two  and  a  half  pounds  of  gold  dust 
from  four  men  who,  with  no  other  appliances  than 
tin  pans,  had  washed  at  least  ten  pounds  of  the 
precious  metal  out  of  the  bed  of  the  La  Plante. 

But  copper  mining  had  long  before  that  date  sup- 
planted gold  mining  in  my  father's  estimation.  Cop- 
per ore  was  found  on  Lot  4  of  the  Second  Range  in 
the  Township  of  Inverness,  County  of  Megantic,  some 
six  years  before  mining  was  commenced  in  1850. 
The  ore  was  rich  enough  to  tempt  the  most  phleg- 
matic. The  Megantic  Mining  Company  was  organ- 
ized to  acquire  those  lots  and  others  in  the  adjacent 
township  of  New  Ireland,  and  active  work  was  car- 
ried on  for  some  years  in  both  townships.  My  father 
was  the  most  active  member  of  the  company.  But 
the  masses  of  rich  ore  were  small  and  the  extensive 


250  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

beds  of  lean  ore  were  too  lean  to  pay.  The  Megantic 
Mining  Company,  however,  still  exists,  and  may  yet 
be  revived.  The  discoveries  subsequently  made  of 
copper  in  Leeds  were  so  much  more  enticing  that 
they  tempted  him  on  to  his  financial  ruin.  The  dis- 
covery of  these  deposits  was  made  in  the  forties. 
The  Lower  Canada  Mining  Company  acquired  the 
land  and  did  some  exploratory  work.  In  the  spring 
of  1853  the  famous  John  Arthur  Phillips  was  sent 
by  John  Taylor  &  Son  to  examine  the  property,  and 
my  father  and  I  accompanied  him  to  the  mines.  His 
report  was  not  favorable  enough  to  induce  that  cau- 
tious firm  to  recommend  their  clients  to  buy,  though 
Phillips  was  very  much  impressed  with  the  surface 
indications.  The  Lower  Canada  Mining  Company 
worked  on  till  1856,  with  ever  more  promising  pros- 
pects, shipping  small  parcels  of  very  rich  ore  from 
superficial  lenses  of  comparatively  small  size, 
at  which  date  it  was  apparently  reorganized  as 
the  Quebec  and  St.  Francis  Mining  Company.  This 
company  sold  the  property  in  1858  to  the  English 
and  Canadian  Mining  Company  on  the  following 
terms:  "The  original  capital  of  the  company  is  to 
be  £40,000.  Sterling.  The  shares  in  one-half  of  the 
capital  are  to  be  issued  to  the  shareholders  of  the 
Canadian  Company,  as  fully  paid  up  shares.  Out 
of  the  money  raised  by  the  shares  in  the  other  half 
of  the  Capital  £4,000.  is  to  be  paid  to  the  Directors 
of  the  Canadian  Company,  the  remaining  £16,000.  is 
to  be  the  working  capital  of  the  Company."  This 
insignificant  working  capital  was  exhausted  in  a  very 
few  years,  but  the  result  of  work  was  the  opening  of 


CONCLUSION  251 

a  large  bed  of  ore,  supposed  to  average  three  per 
cent.,  and  a  lode,  supposed  to  be  exceedingly  rich— 
the  Fanny  Eliza  Lode.  The  report  of  1862  says: 
"The  funds  at  the  disposal  of  your  Directors  being 
so  nearly  exhausted,  it  has  been  their  study  to  sus- 
pend, as  far  as  possible,  all  work  not  tending  towards 
immediate  profit. ' '  But  the  results,  if  not  remunera- 
tive, were  sufficiently  promising  to  induce  a  Boston 
firm  to  attempt  to  float  the  Harvey  Hill  Mining  and 
Smelting  Company  in  1863.  The  attempt  failed,  as 
did  also  the  endeavor  of  the  old  shareholders  to  re- 
organize as  the  London  &  Quebec  Copper  Mining 
Company,  with  a  capital  of  £100,000.  Meanwhile 
the  company  had  commenced  to  accumulate  a  debt, 
and  the  English  shareholders,  like  wise  business  men, 
had  decided  to  pocket  their  losses  and  close  the  mine, 
when  my  father  passed  through  London  on  his  way 
to  Egypt  in  the  winter  of  1863-64.  Satisfied  that 
the  mine  was  all  that  his  fancy  and  that  of  Mr.  "Wil- 
liams, the  superintendent,  pictured  it  as  being,  and 
confident,  as  usual,  in  his  luck  and  his  judgment,  he 
offered  the  English  shareholders  to  buy  all  their  stock 
at  a  ridiculous  figure  and  to  pay  all  their  debts. 

Up  to  that  date  he  had  put  into  the  enterprise 
more  money  than  was  prudent,  but  not  more  than  he 
could  afford  to  lose.  To  meet  these  heavy  obliga- 
tions he  had  to  mortgage  all  his  property.  Having 
become  a  majority  stockholder,  the  minority  allowed 
him  to  find  the  working  capital,  so  that  in  the  course 
of  a  few  years,  for  the  erection  of  works  and  as 
losses  on  operations,  he  had  a  claim  against  the  com- 
pany of    over  a  hundred  thousand    dollars,  which 


252  MY  FATHER'S  JOURNAL 

claim,  of  course,  the  company  could  not  pay.  The 
mine  was  worked  continuously,  and  for  several  years 
the  proceeds,  despite  the  unfavorable  transportation 
conditions,  covered  all  working  expenses;  but  they 
never  did  more.  The  situation  was  becoming  desper- 
ate when  the  boom  in  copper  speculation  of  1872 
nearly  saved  him.  A  firm  of  brokers  bonded  the 
property  at  £60,000  and  made  a  small  forfeitable 
payment.  The  same  firm  of  brokers,  unfortunately, 
had  also  bonded  the  Ives  copper  mine  in  the  Province 
of  Quebec.  Instead  of  offering  the  Harvey  Hill  at 
a  fair  advance,  they  consolidated  the  two  and  put 
them  on  the  market  at  £300,000.  Just  then  the  fa- 
mous Mr.  Huntington,  who  unearthed  the  Canadian 
Pacific  scandal,  was  offering  his  copper  mine,  near 
the  Ives  mine,  to  the  British  public.  He  wrote  to  the 
papers,  throwing  doubt  on  the  value  of  the  consoli- 
dated property.  The  stock  had  been  subscribed,  but 
the  board  wisely  decided  to  send  an  independent  min- 
ing engineer  to  Canada  to  examine  and  report  on  the 
Harvey  Hill  and  Ives  mines.  He  reported  favorably 
on  the  Harvey  Hill,  but  as  emphatically  condemned 
the  Ives,  and  therefore  the  shareholders  received  back 
their  subscriptions.  The  directors  thereupon  at- 
tempted to  float  a  company  to  purchase  Harvey  Hill 
alone,  but  the  boom  had  burst.  They,  however,  got 
up  a  company  which  provided  a  small  working  capi- 
tal—the Harvey  Hill  Copper  Company,  Ltd.  But 
the  money  was  very  injudiciously  spent,  and  the  coni: 
pany  in  course  of  time  went  out  of  existence.  Mean- 
while my  father  had  turned  over  his  entire  interest 
in  the  mine  to  his  creditors,  and  had  succeeded  in 


CONCLUSION  253 

selling  his  township  of  Dorset  and  other  lands  at  a 
figure  which  enabled  him  to  liquidate  the  mortgages 
upon  them.  That  done,  he  consented  to  accompany 
me,  in  1875,  to  the  States,  where  I  had  secured  a 
situation  as  superintendent  of  a  small  metallurgical 
company  in  Pennsylvania.  He  had  spent  half  a 
century  in  Quebec.  He  lived  for  eleven  years  longer 
in  Phoenixville,  Pa.,  and  New  York. 

We  took  with  us  a  carload  of  our  old  belongings 
from  Glenalla— a  few  pictures,  two  statues  by  Ran- 
dolph Rogers,  which  could  not  have  been  sold  in 
Quebec,  and  my  father's  Egyptian  collection.*  The 
old  stone  house  which  we  occupied  in  Phoenixville 
had  a  glazed  veranda,  in  which  the  mummies  and 
other  curiosities  were  exposed,  and  where  my  father 
made  and  painted  plaster  casts  from  the  squeezes 
we  had  taken  for  sculptures  on  the  temple  walls  of 
Egypt  The  mummies  were  popularly  supposed  to  be 
the  bodies  of  our  ancestors,  which  we  religiously  car- 
ried about  with  us.  They  inspired  such  awe  that, 
though  burglaries  were  common,  our  house  was  never 
broken  into. 

My  father  was  the  most  popular  man  in  the  little 
town.  He  contributed  recollections  of  his  travels  to 
the  local  newspaper;  spun  travelers'  tales  by  the 
yard,  and  was  everybody's  friend.  His  powers  of 
narrative  never  failed  him.  Though  his  memory 
became  defective,  he  could  always  fill  the  gaps  by 
drawing  upon  his  imagination.  He  left  all  care  with 
his  shattered  fortune  behind  him  in  Canada,  and  the 


*The  statues  and  the  Egyptian  collection  are  in  the  Metro- 
politan Museum,  New  York  City. 


254  MY  FATHEE'S  JOURNAL 

last  years  of  his  life  were  peaceful  and  happy.  He 
was  prostrated  by  a  stroke  of  paralysis  on  April 
10th,  1886,  and  died  on  April  14th,  without  recover- 
ing consciousness.  He  rests  in  the  cemetery  at  Mount 
Hermon,  Quebec,  which  he  was  instrumental  in 
creating. 

THE  END 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

This  book  is  due  on  the  date  indicated  below,  or  at  the 
expiration  of  a  definite  period  after  the  date  of  borrowing, 
as  provided  by  the  rules  of  the  Library  or  by  special  ar- 
rangement with  the  Librarian  in  charge. 

DATE  BORROWED 

DATE  DUE 

DATE  BORROWED 

DATE  DUE 

3EC      4  194 

CIIBWCtW 

R464.D74  D74 

Douglas 


Id 


